We love because he first loved us. —1 John 4:19
When you think of intimacy with God, you may picture yourself doing the work. God is somewhere distant, waiting. And you must make the effort to move closer to Him, unsure whether He will receive you. Or maybe the idea of intimacy with God is altogether foreign to you. It’s for the super-spiritual, for pastors and dedicated missionaries, people who bleed ministry. Or perhaps you equate intimacy, as I did, with an experience that comes only once in a while, programmed and packaged. Church on Sunday may be the time you feel close to God—the other days of the week, not so much.
But it’s my prayer that, as believers, we see intimacy with God differently, that it wouldn’t be a foreign idea or a once-in-a-while experience for which we must wait. . . . And rather than regard intimacy as humans doing the work to get close to God, I pray we embrace this beautiful truth—that God has been the One moving us toward intimacy with Him.
Devotional is taken from Cling: Choosing a Lifestyle of Intimacy with God © 2017 by Kim Cash Tate.
Used by permission of Our Daily Bread Publishing, Box 3566, Grand Rapids, MI 49501.
All rights reserved. ourdailybreadpublishing.org/gh739.html
Make it Personal
How does the truth of 1 John 4:19 impact your understanding of what it means to have intimacy with the Lord?