Articles . Volume 11 | Issue 04

Intimacy with God

“And there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face.” (Deut 34:10)

God is omniscient and knows everything. He made and knows the inner workings of every cell of your body. But does the Lord “know” you?

We speak of knowing God, but in Matthew 7 Jesus declared that there are some who are going to stand in the judgment proclaiming their righteousness and He will say, “Depart from me—I never knew you.”

Does the Lord know you? This term indicates disclosure. It is the willingness on God’s part to entrust Himself fully to you, which He chooses to do for those who believe in Him. And, it seems, that disclosure becomes more and more intimate the more we surrender to His Lordship and follow His leadership. The more we draw near to Him, the more He draws near to us, but there are conditions on this nearness (see James 4:6-10).

We need intimacy more than we could ever possibly imagine. It is particularly true for those of us who are leaders. How can we lead others to someone we do not know? And our souls will not be spared from the ravages of sin if we are not intoxicated with the sweetness of such intimacy.

“Ecstasy and delight are essential to the believer’s soul…we are not meant to live without spiritual exhilaration…the believer is in spiritual danger if he allows himself to go for any length of time without tasting of the love of Christ…when Christ ceases to fill the heart with satisfaction, our souls will go in silent search of other lovers” (John Eldridge, “Wild at Heart” Pg. 171.172)

Moses was a specially selected man in God’s unique economy for the deliverance of Israel. I do not expect to experience all that Moses did (in this life), for Moses knew God “face to face.” There is no one, save Jesus, who was awarded that privilege in human history and I don’t anticipate being the first.

But I want to know God and Him to know me intimately. I would like to be included in the inner circle of deep intimacy with Him. And, I do believe that is possible. J. Oswald Sanders in his classic book, “Enjoying Intimacy with God” gives me hope.

“Each of the disciples was as close to Jesus as he chose to be for the Son of God had no favorites. With him there is no caprice of favoritism. Their relationship with Him was the result of their own choice, conscious or unconscious.
It is a sobering thought that we too are as close to Christ as we really choose to be. It would seem that admission to the inner circle of deepening intimacy with God is the outcome of deep desire. Only those who count such intimacy a prize worth sacrificing anything else for are likely to attain it. If other intimacies are more desirable to us, we will not gain entry to that circle.
The place on Jesus’ breast is still vacant and open to any who are wiling to pay the price of deepening intimacy. We are now and we will be in the future only as intimate with God as we really choose to be.”

We say of our deepest friends, “I know _ well.” We know them because they have chosen us as their friend and paid the price of friendship. Does God say today, “I know (your name) well” because you have paid such a price?

(copyright 2011, Bill Elliff)