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Being intimate with God is so important.
God is not far away from you. God is always near to you. Even when you don’t feel that God is near you, God is right there to protect you, to console you, and to give you strength.
Because God is near to us, we do not lose hope even in a hopeless situation. We do not give up even when we don’t have any strength left to go on. When I can’t walk, God will pick me up in his arms so that my journey can continue.
The Psalmist boldly declares that God is near to him.
The Lord is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth. (Psalm 145:18)
Not only this passage, but in many other places in the Scripture, we see the nearness of God.
When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart, I will let you find me. (Jeremiah 29:13, 14)
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you,
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you. (Isaiah 43:2)
Being intimate with God is to be aware of God’s nearness to you. Of course, regardless of whether you are aware or not, God is near to you.
But it is important that you recognize it. When you don’t recognize it, believe it or feel it, you won’t feel the power of God.
My first experience of God’s nearness was during my university time. I felt that he was so close to me. It was almost like walking with a very close friend. I was fully aware of his presence around me.
At that time, just the thought of Jesus brought tears to my eyes. And this time around, when I was sick, I felt very close to God again.
You feel close to God not only when everything is going well. Sometimes, when you go through storms of life, you feel very intimate with God.
Many Christians live their life without feeling intimate with God. They are not connected with God.
Being connected with God is a very important part of Christian life. It is so important that Jesus said this.
I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing, but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. (John 15:15)
Friendship implies the intimate relationship.
Jesus went further with this intimacy.
Abide in me as I abide in you. (John 15:4)
Complete union Jesus is talking about.
I am in God, and God is in me. God is not just near you. God is inside you.
He knows all your thoughts and feelings. He knows you better than you know yourself.
Maybe this is what they don’t like.
Many people live their lives without wanting to be connected to God. They have a hard time being intimate with God, not simply because God is invisible. But because they have a problem with being intimate with anyone. Intimacy is the problem.
Being intimate with people can be dangerous. Because intimacy always accompanies vulnerability.
You have to expose the core of who you are. Your needs, your hopes and dreams. But also your fear, your weaknesses, your shortcomings, and your raw self. That can be scary.
A lot of our self-identity is determined by how people react to you. So, it is hard to show other people your dark side.
Because your good self-image will be ruined. That’s why intimacy can be intimidating.
Unless you really trust that person, you cannot let the guards down and reveal your true self. But even then, very personal information you shared with a person you trust can be exploited and damage you.
So, you said to yourself, I won’t share anything any more. It’s not worth it. I better keep it to myself. I can trust nobody.
When Adam and Eve ate the fruit from the forbidden tree, their eyes were open but with the opened eyes, what they saw was shame. Nothing else.
They felt embarrassed that they were naked. They felt ashamed to be exposed.
They didn’t want God to know their shame. So, they hid themselves. In other words, they could not trust God any more.
Until then, they were very comfortable to be who they were. They exposed themselves with no problem.
But now they couldn’t be who they were. They put a guard around them. They kept God at a distance.
That kind of attitude continued and came to a climax at the Tower of Babel incident. We will examine it this Friday.
That’s how we live. We live with no intimacy. Because it is too risky to be intimate. Even in the family.
We put the walls so high that no one can come in. Not even God.
Everybody puts their walls around them so that no one can enter. They think it’s better safe than sorry. They were let down too many times. So I don’t need anyone.
Simon and Garfunkel captured this sentiment very well in their song, I Am a Rock.
I am a rock
I am an island
I’ve built walls
A fortress, steep and mighty
That none may penetrate
I have no need of friendship
Friendship causes pain
It’s laughter and it’s loving I disdain
And the song ends with this.
And a rock feels no pain
And an island never cries
They don’t want to be hurt. It is too painful to be intimate.
That’s why we cannot have an intimacy with God, not because God is invisible but because we have lost the ability to be intimate. We have decided to live alone even though we are physically surrounded by people.
God wants to restore that intimacy. God wants to knock down the walls of fear so that we can feel intimate with God and with others.
That’s why Jesus let down all his guards, and took people’s false accusations. He was hurt. He was misunderstood.
And yet, he took all of them to have an intimate relationship with us. He showed clearly to us how painful it is to have an intimate relationship.
God wants a real relationship with us. Not superficial and surface relationship. God wants to come into us.
Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in and eat with you, and you with me. (Revelation 3:20)
James told us.
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. (James 4:8)
Draw near to God. God will draw near to you.
Do not hide. Do not run away. Don’t think you are all alone.
Start an intimate relationship with God. You can let down all your guards and let God know who you really are.
It will be difficult in the beginning. Every day, practice it. Your failures, your fears, your hidden shame, your shortcomings – Just bring them all before God.
Intimacy is Into-Me-See.
It is letting God know your interior self.
Yes, God already knows you but it is important that you let God know who you are for your sake. By doing that you will be restored.
You will experience God’s grace in a real way. You will experience tremendous freedom to be true to yourself.
And you will get to know God in a fresh new way. Your relationship with others will also become real and meaningful.
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