Intimacy.....

So the blogs have been a bit lacking lately! Sorry for that (I'm still not sure how many people actually read this! but hey! why not?! lol)

Something that I have been really challenged about recently is how intimate I am with God. Now, let me tell you now, intimacy is NOT something that is only experienced between a couple. So I thought I'd look up what intimacy means (God Bless google!) and I got "feeling or atmosphere of closeness and openness towards someone else,"

Which to me makes loads of sense. And it only begins to explain what God desires to have with us. He doesn't want us to settle for having a mediocre, luke warm relationship with him. He desires to have a really deep, intimate relationship with us.

When I think about this, I get this visual picture in my mind (I am a VERY visual person!). And I get this image of a loving father, with his outstretched arm, inviting us to join Him. He's become vulnerable, making the first move. And then He waits for our response. Will we reach out and meet Him halfway? We have to desire that deep and intimate relationship and then make steps towards it. God isn't going to force it on us.

While thinking about this, something that really struck me was how gracious God is towards us when we turn away from Him. I'm not saying that He wants us to turn away from Him, but just how amazing He is when we want to come back to Him. His grace abounds. It just blows me away every time.

If you haven't gathered already, I'm a massive Brooke Fraser fan. She has this beautiful song (one of many) called Hymn. When I heard this song, I had just been reading Hosea. If you aren't familiar with the story of Hosea, God asked Hosea to go and marry the town prostitute Gomer. Hosea knew that Gomer would be unfaithful, but because God had said to marry her, Hosea did.

Does that blow you away?! God says go and marry a prostitute buddy, one thats going to cheat on you?! ... I'd be saying "are you nuts God". But Hosea did it. Such faith.

And as foretold, Gomer was unfaithful, and I'd be guessing that Hosea was getting a bit fed up. But God speaks to Hosea again and says "Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the LORD loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes."(Hosea 3:1) So Hosea went and gathered his shekels of silver, and bought Gomer back to be his wife for the rest of their days.

GO AND LOVE HER AGAIN?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! are you serious?! God is asking Hosea to go and love his adulterous life again?! And He does. Such love. Such grace.

If we bring this story to our level today, who represents what character? I don't know about anyone else but

Hosea= God
Gomer= Humans
Gomer= Me.

How many times do we run off doing other things, other than living our lives for God. And you know what, it may not even be the "naughty things" that Christians often feel guilty for. Its often the much more subtle things that draw us away from that deep and intimate relationship with God.

Discontentment, jealousy, greed, lust, idolatry, envy, laziness, etc... the list goes on.

But God desires us so much that even though we turn our back on Him, he loves us AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN!! ......

I don't know about you, but that just blows me away. again, and again, and again.

Brooke Fraser- Hymn

If to distant lands I scatter
If I sail to farthest seas
Would you find and firm and gather 'til I only dwell in Thee?
If I flee from greenest pastures
Would you leave to look for me?
Forfeit glory to come after
'Til I only dwell in Thee

If my heart has one ambition
If my soul one goal to seek
This my solitary vision 'til I only dwell in Thee
That I only dwell in Thee
'Til I only dwell in Thee


I pray that I'll only want to dwell in God. He is all I need. He is all you need. He is the only one that can make us whole. Nothing, and no one else will ever be able to make us complete.

For Him Alone

Ness