Stewarding the Sweetness of Intimacy

Growing up, have you ever had a great friend you were incredibly close to but somehow overtime, you were no longer as tight as you used to be? I can imagine that we’ve all been there before. But have you ever thought about why that happened, deeper than the blanket ‘we grew apart?’ What’s responsible for that growing? And why was it apart?

What I’ve found is that, regardless of the circumstances that caused the distance, ‘growing apart’ is simply a deficiency of intimacy in the relationship. It’s a gradual process where you start to communicate less. You don’t hang out as much. You share less of your life with the other.

If we’re not careful, this is exactly what can happen in our relationship with God. But friendship with God is one that we dare not dissolve. When we distance ourselves from God, we lose sight of the primary reason we were created: to know and be known by Him (John 17:3). We disconnect from our source of true fulfillment, joy, freedom, and peace. We lose direction in our purpose and introduce confusion into our lives.

In this season of busyness, I’ve seen this process play out in my personal life. There’s times where my growing to-do list has trumped my intimate time with Jesus. Times where my mental exhaustion from school has left little room for my mind to wander in conversation with Him. Slowly but surely, it created distance in our relationship. Surely but slowly, it replaced the Eden-like presence of God with the empty echoes of the world.

With a heart of repentance and obedience, He's restoring my relationship with Him; and more than anything, it's encouraged me to not take the sweetness of intimacy with Him for granted. It's the most priceless gift to be able to host the literal Spirit of the Living God; and even as I reach a 'new normal' in my relationship with Him, He's reminding me to never get complacent in the depth of which I know Him. There's always room to go deeper and this quest to experience more is what helps us from drifting in the first place.

So on that note, I'd love to share 3 practical tips that I'm currently implementing to continue to foster intimacy with Jesus (in addition to reading the Word, prayer, and fasting). These tips are equally as great for those who feel far from God and those who feel they couldn't get closer!

1. Go on dates with Jesus/Hang out with Him

One of my favorite ways to seek intimacy with Jesus is by going on dates with Him! In this, I select a fun solo activity to do or cool place to go to with the sole purpose of enjoying time with God and seeing Him move in that place. Last weekend, I went on my first date with Jesus in a whileeee, and it has already allowed me to learn so much about His nature and see the Bible come alive experientially. Romans 1:20 says that God's invisible qualities have been made clear by understanding what has been made. As such, when we take time to explore what God's has create, we also get to expand our understanding of who God is. Additionally, it gives me a much needed break from my day-to-day schedule and allows me to just enjoy God purely and joyfully.

2. Implement a 'no phone zone' during intimate times with Jesus

Listennn, the greatest demise to my intimate time with Jesus is distraction via my phone. I can be deep in the presence of God and the atmosphere be immediately shifted due to a text or notification I receive. For a while, I tried to put my phone on Do Not Disturb, but even the presence of my phone being close by was a temptation to escape the presence of God for the cares of the world. So this week, I plan to start putting my phone in an entirely different area to help me keep my eyes fixed on Jesus. I'll update on how it goes, but I'm believing that it'll have a significant impact on my quiet time and also allows the fruit of self-control to grow riper in my life.

3. Have intentional heart-testing conversations

A scripture I go back to often as it relates to intimacy with God is James 4:8, "Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you." But often, we forget the second part of this verse, "Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded." Often times, our own sin and double-minded hearts is what causes the separation in our relationship with God. When we have intentional conversations with the Lord and ask Him to check our hearts, we give Him permission to expose the barriers in our intimacy. While this can initially seem intimidating, think about what those difficult conversations do in your other relationships. They strengthen and deepen it. The same thing happens when we have raw, authentic, and difficult conversations with God. They're necessary steps to growing in intimacy with Him.

Ultimately, intimacy with Jesus is the sweetest closeness we could ever experience and through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we can learn to be a better host of His presence. And in doing this, we can mirror the psalmist and say confidently, "How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord…" (Psalm 84:1-2 NIV)

Now your turn...

• Examine your relationship with God and identify ways you enjoy seeking intimacy with Him. Are there any ways you can go deeper in intimacy? Ask the Lord how He might want to walk you deeper in relationship with Him.

• Select one of the 3 practical tips and make plans to implement them in your life over the next week. Once you implement the tip, journal your experience and ask the Lord how you might be able to make it a consistent practice in your life.

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