Reading the Bible and having knowledge of the word of God does not mean we have established an intimate relationship with Christ. Intimacy is defined as, “close familiarity or closeness.” But it takes more than familiarity or closeness to be intimate with God. It requires that we engage not only our minds but our hearts; our heart must be open to and prepared by the Spirit of God. That is why studying the word is not enough.
As we draw nearer to God intimately, we will gain knowledge of our Father and His intentions for us. This will build confidence in us to move closer to Him. Why? Because for our public ministry to be effective, we must have established a deeper relationship with Him in our prayer closet.
To know Him intimately requires that we become acquainted with Him. In order to do so we must sit quietly before Him, we must learn to be still and open our hearts and be vulnerable before Him. We must allow God to love on us and quieten our souls, to hear from Him how special we are to Him and how much He loves us regardless of how unworthy we may feel. God won’t throw your deeds in your dace; He loves those who seek Him, especially when they do so with contrite hearts. He is a good God who knows everything about us including our fears and our hurts, but more importantly, He knows our heart.
Once we become acquainted with Him friendship will follow. Jesus offers us salvation and when we accept it, it’s not enough just to be saved; we want to develop a friendship with Him. Here are Jesus words to us in John 15:15-16, “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.” (NIV).
As we become acquainted and develop a friendship with Christ, then what follows is trust. It Is not easy; we must make a conscious decision to place our trust in God because we tend to associate trust with emotions (feelings). We become disappointed in others based on a misplaced trust in people. With God that trust, as I stated before, must be by choice. We must trust Him to hold us, heal us, provide for us and lead us. We cannot equate trust in people with trust in God. People hurt and abuse us, yet we place our trust in them and love God. It’s turned around; we should love people and trust God because He never betrays our trust. He’s the one we lean on when we’re betrayed and hurt time and again. That right there should be our wake up call! Psalm 125:1 states, “Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever.” When your decisions, plans, and ideas are rooted in your trust in God, you will be able to stand firm despite the storms that may come your way.
