THE PLACE OF INTIMACY
THE PLACE OF INTIMACY
My son is a toddler and though he is the spitting image of his dad, he just loves to be around me. But sometimes he chooses to be with his dad. They run around, giggle, roll back and forth and just generally have a fun time together. Recently, as a scene played out in front of me, I realised something profound. Whenever my son decides he wants to spend time with his dad, daddy packs everything aside and gives him all attention.
And it hit me. Abba! Father! This is what you want with us! This is the kind of response we will get whenever we choose to spend time with our Heavenly Father. Once we make the decision that it’s God time, God steps up to receive us and puts everything aside to attend to us. I once heard the testimony of a sister who said she used to have a time set aside for prayer and bible study. And then after a while things changed and she kind of did not keep up with it. Then another sister called to tell her that God said He missed the time with her! Isn’t that something? God looks forward to and enjoys our time with Him. We must know this. The way any parent loves to spend time with their children is exactly how God likes it when we decide to spend time with Him.
It is in the time spent with our Heavenly Father, that we will develop intimacy with Him. And a lot of things happen in the place of intimacy with another. You get to know them better: What they like or dislike; Who they really are; their nature and character and personality.
There is conception in the place of intimacy too. There is an English expression “to conceive an idea” The word conceive originates from a Latin word “concipere” which means to take in. The ideas we conceive or come up with are “taken in” from somewhere. Some look to nature and get inspired. Some stay in a quiet environment meditating and “boom” an idea pops into their mind. You can be certain that ideas on how to solve problems will be “taken in” by us when we come into the presence of God. Spending time with our Heavenly Father is guaranteed to make us creative just as He is. (He created us in His image.)
There is clarity in the place of intimacy. When you are up close and personal with a person you hear them better and most likely understand them better too. This was definitely the case with Jesus and His disciples. “In fact, in his public ministry he never taught without using parables; but afterward, when he was alone with his disciples, he explained everything to them.” Mark 4:34 NLT Jesus would still go, back and explain everything to His disciples when He was alone with them. So even if others in the crowd had not heard or understood Him well enough, it was only to those who spent time alone with Him that He would unpack the message and make it very clear.
It is in the place of intimacy that God will prepare us for the unforseen. We all need to be prepared. These days are not clear anymore. They are just too dark. There is so much out there that could be frightening but God can allay those fears and keep us grounded when we spend time with Him. “Ask me and I will tell you remarkable secrets you do not know about things to come.” Jeremiah 33:3 NLT You only tell people you are close to remarkable secrets or any secrets at all..
God wants us to be his confidants. But it is impossible to confide in someone you are not close to. “I don’t call you servants anymore, because a servant doesn’t know what his master is doing. But I’ve called you friends because I’ve made known to you everything that I’ve heard from my Father.” John 15:15 God’s Word Translation All that Jesus heard from the Father is there in his Word.
Let us therefore get close to Jesus so we can hear Him clearly on what the Father said. And this can only happen when we study and meditate on His Word.
That is the PLACE OF INTIMACY.
OLUYINKA EGO-MARTINS ©