Intimacy

Be honest with me . . . . what did you think that this post was going to be about? Often times when we hear or see the word intimacy we think that it is referring to a sensual physical act. Well . . . that's not what I'm going to talk about. Sorry if I disappointed you, but what I want to share with you is so important and vital to our very existence.

Did you know that your soul and spirit craves intimacy? Intimacy is defined as a close familiarity or friendship. It can also be defined as a close observation or knowledge of a subject.

We have an innate desire to have an inexplicable closeness with another person.  We desire for this person to know who we are, at our core, without having to explain ourselves to them in detail. This desire is one that was planted by our Father when He created us.  God made us relational and we have to be connected to each other in order to fulfill our journeys in life. However; in order to fulfill the desire in our hearts for intimacy, we have to be willing to be vulnerable to someone else.

This in turn is where the challenge begins. Because of our experiences in life that have lead to hurts, disappointments, broken hearts, and shattered promises it is difficult for us to be vulnerable with those around us. It is unthinkable for us to share our inner most thoughts and feelings with someone else who might not cherish them and hold them in the highest regard.

But there is hope. I promise you there is hope! I've experienced my fair share of hurts, disappointments, broken hearts, and shattered promises. However; because I chose to allow God to step into my life and heal the scars those moments left behind, I was able to be made whole. I also learned during that healing process that although I desired to have a close familiarity and friendship with another person, God desired for me to have that level of intimacy with Him. He desired for me to be vulnerable with Him, to allow all of me to be exposed and uncovered, all the while knowing that He would cover me, protect me, and cherish me like the rarest of jewels. He wanted me to observe Him closely and have a knowledge of Him that would forever be tattooed on my heart. He wanted me to find the place where my level of intimacy with Him would transform my intimate interactions with other people.

The scriptures tell us:

“Come close to God, and God will come close to you . . . " James 4:8/NLT

In our coming close to God, He is able to have the opportunity to observe us closely and share His knowledge with us of who we really are.  In that place of closeness, God is able to heal us and mold us into our true selves. And when we've been through the process of developing an intimacy with the Father that can't be shaken, then and only then are we able to begin to truly develop healthy intimate relationships and friendships with those around us. Then and only then are we able to embrace someone else and cherish them on the level that will satisfy their desire for the intimate care of another person.

If you find yourself in a place where you have a deep longing for a close intimate relationship, be courageous enough to stand before the Father exposed. Stand there knowing that He loves you beyond measure, that He wants the very best of everything for you, and that in Him you will find an intimate satisfaction that no other human on Earth can provide. Once you've found this place, know that God will bring the right friendships into your life that will allow you to experience the unexplainable closeness of a divine connection, in His perfect timing.

Scraped Knees

I had a dream . . . and in this dream I was my younger self. I had fallen and scraped my knee. I saw myself brush off my scraped knee a little, I began to cry, and then I immediately ran into the house calling out for my father, so that he could treat my wound and make things better again.

As I woke up from this dream, I felt the Spirit of God leading me to write about this dream for the Blog. I felt lead to write about it from the perspective, of how in our lives we often fall down, scrap our knee, and even cry a little, but even through all of that we have a loving Father who desires for us to run to Him, in order to have our wounds attended to, cleaned, bandaged, and healed, so that our very lives can be made better.

The Word of God tells us that everyone has sinned and that we all fall short of God's glorious standard (Romans 3:23/NLT); however, I don't say that to be a discouragement to you, because the Word also let's us know that the godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again (Proverbs 24:16/NLT). God has given us a promise that although our walks with Him may not be perfect, we will get up again.

As a child of the Most High God, you have an eternal promise that you are, and will forever be, forgiven for any area in your life that you have fallen short in (i.e sinned); as long as you are willing and obedient to bring that area before God to confess your sin and repent. For every area that we've ever fallen short in, or will fall short in during our lifetime, God wants us to immediately come crying out for Him. He wants the opportunity to clean the wounds that our sins left behind; to bandage us up with love; and to make room for the Holy Spirit to begin the inner work of healing, growth, and maturity within us. God's desire for each and every one of us is that the confession, repentance, and healing of our sins would ultimately make us stronger. God's type of wound care enables us to be able to overcome that obstacle the next time around, and to help others to not fall in that same pothole that tripped us up.

So why don't we immediately cry out for our Father when we've fallen and scraped our souls? Is it because of the guilt and the condemnation that the enemy quickly brings to the forefront of our emotions? Is it because of the pressure that we put on ourselves to be "perfect" in our Christian walks? Is it because we don't want to have to be honest with ourselves that we've fallen into the enemy's trap, yet again?

At the core of it, repentance is a heart issue. By that I mean it has to deal with our own personal relationship with God. In the natural, when we love someone and we hurt them, we are often quick to ask for their forgiveness and make promises that we will change our actions, and make every effort to not hurt that person again. Why should our relationship with our Heavenly Father be any different? If for no other reason than because of His great love for us, we should be able to run into His arms, cry on His shoulders, confess what we've done that wasn't pleasing to Him or that didn't honor our relationship with Him, and truly have a repentant heart in our promises to change our choices and actions. True repentance is the commitment to make a complete turn away from those things that are not pleasing to God and that don't honor Him. 

In Matthew 18, we see an account of Paul asking Jesus how many times should he forgive someone who has sinned against him. Jesus responds . . . seventy times seven (Matthew 18:21-22). That's 490 times! Sorry, the accountant in me had to do the math. That's a whole lot of forgiveness, and honestly it is hard for us to wrap our minds around that level of forgiveness when it comes to a natural relationship. But think about it this way, If Jesus' instructions were to forgive someone who has sinned against you 490 times, how many more times will our Heavenly Father forgive us?! We serve a God who is unfailing in His love and faithfulness towards us. How many more times will He welcome us with loving open arms, scraped knees and all?

I am grateful to have a relationship with a God who not only promises that we can get back up, that we will be forgiven for our sins, that He will accept us without question, but also a God who promises, over and over, to not remember the sins that we've committed, because He loves us just that much (Micah 7:18-19, Hebrews 10:17, Hebrews 8:12, Isaiah 43:25).

If there is something that has been weighing heavy on your heart and your spirit, I hope that this post will encourage you to go before the Lord . . . confess whatever it is, accept His love for you, receive His forgiveness, allow His healing to take place, and grow and mature into the overcomer that He created you to be. Someone else is depending on you to win your battle so that you can come and fight  alongside them and encourage them to not give up. Once you've won your battle, you can let others know . . . "if God did it for me, then He will surly do it for you".

"If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness." 

1 John 1:8-9/NLT

Chosen

". . . I chose you, forever I'll choose you still . . . 

cause I love you, I promise I always will"

There is just something about being chosen! When someone expresses to us or notifies us that we've been chosen for a particular assignment or opportunity there is a sense of acceptance, worth, and belonging that comes over us. If we are honest with ourselves . . . we all just want to be chosen.

As I listened to "Promise I Always Will" by Steffany Gretzinger, the lyrics at the top of this post pierced my ear and my heart.  When I began to reflect on and imagine God saying this to me directly . . . . I was completely overwhelmed and overtaken by worship! I dare you for just 5 seconds to imagine . . . the God of all creation speaking to you directly and saying . . . I CHOSE YOU, forever, I'll CHOOSE YOU still. 

Well . . . If you didn't already know, I'm here to tell you . . . that's exactly what God says about YOU! Yes, YOU!!! It doesn't matter what you've done, what you feel like you failed at, or what areas you may still be falling short in.

God loves you with an unimaginable unconditional love that's hard for us to even imagine. Don't believe me . . . well . . . Galatians 1:15 (NLT) says that "before I was born, God chose me and called me by his marvelous grace." The Word also tells us that "many are called, but few are chosen" (Matthew 22:14). There is something about being called and chosen! It is a wonderful place to be in God to not only be called but also to be CHOSEN by Him.

Now I know that for someone reading this the enemy will try to tell you that what I've pointed out is great, but it doesn't pertain to you, because of whatever you've done in your life that you feel wasn't pleasing to God.  But let me expose the enemy's lie right now . . . the Word of God says in Psalms 139:

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous - how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can't even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me!

God knew how every day of your life would play out before you were even born. He knows every intricate detail of your personality and He still has precious thoughts towards you. It doesn't matter what your past holds, God is still with you; therefore, your past can no longer hold you!

I pray that this post today gives you the bit of encouragement and the sense of belonging and acceptance that you needed to keep pressing forward in your life and in your journey with God.  Life can be overwhelming at times with all the things that are required of us, but know that God loves us enough to give us relief and overflow our lives with His goodness at any moment.   Don't give up!!

God says to you today . . . 

"I chose you, forever I'll choose you still. Cause I love you, I promise I always will."

But . . . . They Hurt Me!

Psalm 34:18 NLT

If  you live long enough, you are assured to experience some sort of hurt in your lifetime. When we start to discuss hurt, most of us tend to turn our thoughts towards the hurt that we've experienced in a romantic relationship. But that's not the only hurt that we experience. . .

At the root of it all, we are human and we constantly interact with other humans who may disappoint us, reject us, offend us, not deliver on their promises, not stand up for us and defend us, not support our dreams, not comfort us in our darkest hours . . . . etc. This list could go on forever, but at the center of it all we just want to be LOVED!  And we want to be loved for who we are at our core, and not for who others think we should be or for what we have the potential to do.

So . . . . what happens when we are hurt? What happens when we are hurt by our family, friends, significant others, or even our brothers and sisters in Christ? For many of us we withdraw from those that hurt us and build walls to "protect" us from ever having to feel that level of hurt again. For others, we put on masks so that we can go out into the world and "function". We find ourselves hiding behind the masks of fake smiles and laughs while on the inside . . . . there is nothing but constant turmoil.

But what would happen if we stopped hiding?

I want to encourage you, and challenge you a little as well, to take off the masks and open up your spirit to allow God to heal your hurt and brokenness. Allow God to begin the process of tearing down those walls and putting the pieces of your heart back together again.

God has placed people in your path to assist Him in this process of healing.  These are people who God has hand picked and anointed to love you, support you, and encourage you in this journey of restoration.  God has given them the discernment to see past the mask and understand the hurt. The only thing that is required on your part is to be open to the love that they so desperately want to lavish upon you.

My prayer is that you will allow God's love in your life from this moment forward. I can testify that God will heal and restore everything that the enemy tried to steal from you, if you will just be open to receive all that He has to give. Remember God wants to rescue you . . . 

"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; He rescues those whose spirits are crushed" 

Psalm 34:18 NLT