Read: Romans 8:35-39“May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. “ Ephesians 3:19
One of the biggest hindrances to enjoying satisfying human relationships comes from the busyness of our schedules. We fill our time with every conceivable activity or we vegetate in front of any number of differing digital screens. In the process, we limit our availability for human contact. This thought leads me to another hindrance to intimacy, which is our dread of being hurt.
We fear that letting our guard down and being real with someone, opens up our heart for rejection. Or people may possibly use the information we share with them against us, or belittle the significance of our feelings, or preach to us about how to solve our problems. In reality, all we really need is for someone to actively listen to us and to affirm our feelings, but this will never happen if we do not step out and make a friend.
God has a plan for each of our lives. He promised that when we, as a branch, allow Him to graft us into Jesus Christ, as our Vine, we connect to a life-giving source of the power of His Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives us gifts for use in ministry (1 Corinthians 12:7-11). He also weaves His fruit into the fabric of our lives (1 Corinthians 12:4-14). Therefore, we, in turn, have a plentiful resource of these qualities to share with others who come to us for help in their time of need. These people reciprocate these blessings to us as well.
Finding a small group in a church that has warm and caring members is another resource for us to build friendships. Working in a service industry to provide for the needs of other individuals often secures for us a sanctuary of intimacy in return. No matter who we are, where we live or what denomination we attend, we can reach out to people in our church, neighborhood or workplace.
Something as simple as an invitation to see a movie, to grab a bite to eat, or to enjoy a stroll around the neighborhood park several evenings per week will bring a smile to a face and allow joy to seep into a broken heart. These non-threatening activities are the foundation on which intimate relationships are built, because we learn to trust each other a little at a time.
If you are alone, a good starting place is to pray about whether marriage is God’s will for you. He may prefer that you remain single and serve Him more freely, since you are not restricted by the responsibilities placed on someone with a spouse and children. A life of aloneness can give you the opportunity to experience al-one-ness with God. Unity with our creator is infinitely more fulfilling than any human relationship could ever provide, because His love is supernatural and it comes from within us.
But, if God calls you to marriage, then your husband, your resulting family, along with the church in which God calls you to serve, provide quality resources to supply all of your needs for intimacy, as well as to present you with a mission field in which to serve Him. If you also start from a place of al-one-ness with God, your union with our creator will lead and guide you each moment of the day.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, when we are led by Your Spirit moment-by-moment throughout the day, we do not worry about anything; instead, we pray about everything. We tell You what we need, and we thank You for all that You do for us. Then Your peace, which exceeds anything we can understand, fills us and guards our hearts and minds as we live in You. - Philippians 4:6-7Thought for the Day:
We love God, even though we have never seen him. We trust Him and rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. - 1 Peter 1:8