Finding Intimacy with God Through Worship ~ blog

One of the things I hear often from those struggling with sexual brokenness is that they are lonely.  Right is the very beginning of time God himself made the observation;

“It is not good for man to be alone.”

So, it is no surprise that those of us who live in isolation because of our shame, keeping secrets from our friends and family feel alone because we cannot share with others our secret sin. This reality forces one to have an outward appearance for others to see and know all the while there is an inward self that is growing sicker and more self-condemned as time passes and deeper into the darkness of sin we go.

God created us for community and not just a bunch of people getting together once in a while but to experience a closeness, knowing you have someone there to share life with. God’s idea was to create both man and woman in His image and so the setting of this oneness with someone is marriage, making a commitment for life with someone you are devoted to and with whom you are becoming one spiritually, emotionally, and sexually.

However, the need for intimacy exists in everyone whether they are married or not.  Therefore, if you are longing from intimacy and waiting for marriage to offer that I have some bad news for you. Marriage does not automatically create intimacy. Sexual intimacy can be part of that, but I know many marriages where there is no sexual intimacy.

What we all need to be developing is a spiritual and emotional intimacy with God. Looking for intimacy through sex is a false intimacy. You are not becoming one with that image, video, or person you are fantasizing about. You are using them, or they are using you or both. This false intimacy becomes like eating a Snickers bar to help you feel better in the moment, but you will only go back to feeling bad and probably feeling worse.

The ultimate solution to the problem of loneliness and a lack of intimacy is finding true intimacy with God.  Whether you are married or not this is such a foundational step of the normal Christian life. Intimacy with God is actually not a super difficult task that only the super-spiritual person can achieve. It doesn’t demand a seminary degree or a master’s in Bible and Theology.  In fact, seminary has ruined many a student filling their heads with knowledge and leaving their hearts empty.

So, how does one develop intimacy with God? How can we experience a closeness with God, a friendship with God that meets our need for intimacy? The good news is that it is not difficult. It does not require hours on your knees, beating yourself up for your sins, and reaching a point of desperation where you cry out in exasperation for Him to respond.

Here is the good news.  You do not have to go looking for Him. God the Father and God the Son are omnipresent. They are everywhere all the time. We are actually living our lives right in His presence.  Like it says in Psalm 139;

Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
 If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.
 If I take the wings of the dawn,
If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,
 Even there Your hand will lead me,
And Your right hand will lay hold of me.
 If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me,
And the light around me will be night,”
Even the darkness is not dark to You,
And the night is as bright as the day.
Darkness and light are alike to You.

Then there is the Spirit who is literally dwelling inside of us. In fact, I can honestly say that it is impossible for you to get any closer to God than you are right now. Even when you are acting out in sexual sin, hoping to find intimacy through sex, God is right there with you and in you. But you think since He is out of sight you can pretend He is not there with you…but He is.

The problem is that we do not always feel His presence. In fact, it is rare when times of Him seeming close to you and experiencing His love and support happen. But that is not because He is not there, or He has stopped loving you. The problem is you are not looking to Him for what you think you need.  You think you need the thrill of sexual sin when in reality you need to feel the deep love and intimacy God has for you and wants to have with you.

How can I begin to develop this true intimacy with God? Worship. Jesus Himself said to the woman at the well that the Father seeks for those who worship Him in spirit and in truth. Worship can be just praying words of adoration and praise. However, adding to these words music and the experience is even more powerful.

Worship with music and words of adoration and praise touches both our hearts and minds. Music itself can move us and give us an experience by what it does in our brains. Many times, in the Bible we are told to come into His presence with singing and praise.  Why? It is not because He needs to be worshiped and praised…but because WE NEED TO HAVE THE EXPERIENCE OF WORSHIPPING AND PRAISING OUR FATHER, OUR LORD AND THE HOLY SPIRIT.

We are supposed to be doing that because of how it can affect us. False intimacy comes from a sexual experience that God warns us about doing.  True intimacy begins with knowing, loving, and worshipping our God.

More tomorrow …

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