Intimacy with God is the sacred romance that we all long for. Yes, we ALL long for intimacy ~ many of us don’t realize it, because we have suppressed it. We have even neatly buried our need for satisfying and fulfilling human relationships under the rubble of “I don’t need people” or “relationships are too hard” type attitudes.

And sometimes it does seem easier to hang onto this type of attitude because the reality is our human relationships will at sometime, in some way fall short and disappoint us. It’s just inevitable with a sinful nature, albeit a nature that is being redeemed.

But, and now HEAR THIS loudly and clearly, God will never disappoint us. Although we don’t always understand God’s ways and we may not always like them, He is completely trustworthy because God is ALL He says He is. He is the GREAT I AM, He is THE PROMISE KEEPER, The Alpha and the Omega, The Ancient of Days and our heavenly Father.

But what does a personal relationship with God look like?

A personal relationship is an intimate relationship. Now I didn’t say a sexual relationship, I said an intimate relationship. Many people when they hear the word intimacy, the first thing they think of is sex. Which leads me to my next point, since many of us don’t have a good grasp on what it means to have an intimate relationship with a human being it stands to reason there would be some confusion about what a personal relationship with God looks like.

Here are some ideas about what a personal relationship with God might look like:

• You want to be with God and spend time with Him and get to know Him better so you study His love letters to you.
• Even though you can’t see God and you don’t audibly hear his voice that doesn’t hinder your relationship because you know He is ever present, and always listening.
• You invite Him into every area of your life…you don’t exclude Him from ANYTHING you do!
• You do this by speaking to Him conversationally in your mind and out loud with your voice…it’s called prayer
• You trust Him with and talk to Him about your deepest needs, hurts, pain, shames, desires and dreams because you know He will NEVER reject you.
• When you see His work in your life or other people’s lives you feel joy and happiness and you tell Him “thank you, thank you, thank you…I love you.”
• You are compelled to adore Him. You think about how great and wonderful and awesome He is and you praise Him in your heart and out loud with your mouth, and sometimes spontaneously with psalms and songs of praise.
• Because you love Him and He means the world to you, you talk about Him to your friends. You are not embarrassed to speak about Him or to let people know you love Him.
• You honor Him by your obedience to His word because you are so thankful and grateful that He has forgiven you of your sins.
• You want to please God in everything you do and you LEARN to trust Him with everything.
• You confess your sin to Him and ask for help to turn away from your sinful ways. You welcome His loving discipline in your life.
• You consciously and regularly acknowledge the reality that your relationship with God was birthed in you through the work of Christ on the cross, His resurrection, and God’s enabling you to respond in faith to that truth and the Spirit of Christ who came to live in you when you responded in faith.

Life is enriched

Intimacy with God is something that develops and matures over time as you INVEST in the relationship. It has seasons and colors and flavors to it like some of the other good things that life has to offer. Not that God can be compared to other good things life has to offer for He is transcendant in all His ways. We need not fear that our lives will become more mundane and the world around us less enjoyable as we yield to God and enter more deeply into that personal relationship.

This ultimate fulfillment and life satisfaction we each desire comes from only one Source, the wellspring of life that is a relationship with the Living God. It is this intimacy with God that also gives life and health to our relationships with others, especially those closest to us. Invest wisely in your relationship with God and you will be on your way to experiencing the greatest satisfaction life has to offer.

Reading and studying the the Torah (first 5 books Genesis -Deuteronomy) is a good place to start an intimate relationship with God.