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The Joy of Communing with Creator God

Enjoying Unhindered Intimacy with God

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Identifying and Eliminating what Hinders our Fellowship with the One Who Made Us.

The Story

Could a former addict, who lost his job and almost his family, now enjoy unhindered intimacy with the Creator of the universe? You might not think so, but think again.

A couple of months ago, at a Saturday morning men’s breakfast, a brother, I’ll call him George, shared about his life of addiction, which held him captive for many years. Tearfully, George shared how tough love, accountability and God’s grace transformed his life. With a gleam in his eye, he declared that he now enjoys unhindered intimacy with God.

Those of us who were at the breakfast were very thankful for George’s honest vulnerability. It took great courage to admit his weakness, but we all saw how in his weakness, Christ showed Himself as strong. Too often men hide behind thin veneers of outward goodness, while inside, joy withers and souls dry out.

Men need to be brave enough to talk about deeper subjects than sports, cars, and fishing. That morning, George’s vulnerability led to more meaningful, transformative connections and conversations.

We men need to fight for this level of openness. It starts with our own courage to stop hiding and talk about our struggles. This is the gift George gave us that morning.

Since then, I’ve explored George’s phrase, “unhindered intimacy,” and would like to share what I’ve discovered.

Intimate Fellowship

What is intimate fellowship?

God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord (I Corinthians 1:9).

Our fellowship involves a deep association with Christ, a community with Him and a joint participation.

But what hinders our enjoyment of this intimate fellowship?

The Hinderances

Distractions

These days, they are far too many screens to capture our attention. Even in our times with God, they cry out, offering politics, sports, TV, short video reels and the like. These and other distractions invade our souls with noise and crowd our minds. We tend to suffer from a lack of intentional solitude. 

May we be less like Martha and more like Mary. Less bothered and worried about what we do and more resting in the Lord as we love and serve.

38Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word. 40 But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; 42 but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:38-42)

False Affections

We were created with an eternal hole in our hearts which only God can fill.[1] But, we tend to dedicate our lives trying to plug the void with temporal, fragile, fleeting pleasures. We are tricked into thinking these false affections, such as substances, porn, gluttony, achievements, possessions, and even human relationships, will quiet our longing souls.

The truth of the matter is the these impostures only hinder our intimacy with our Creator. We can’t depend on any earthly thing, including our closest relationships, to make us feel okay. God alone must be our Highest Joy.

You have put gladness in my heart, More than when their grain and new wine abound (Psalm 4:7).

 Guilt and Shame

The guilt and shame of sin can make us feel unlovable and unworthy. As we pursue holiness, we can never depend upon our own strength to become like Jesus. Depending on God’s Holy Spirit within us is how transformation happens, not by our own strength.

Similarly, we can never depend on our own righteousness as the entrance into intimate fellowship with God. Any misunderstanding of the efficacy of Christ’s sacrifice for our salvation clouds us with guilt and shame, which hinders our approach to Father God.

We must not allow the enemy to hide God’s love and forgiveness from us. 

 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all  (I John 1:9 NASB).

 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus        (Romans 8:1).

Jesus says that the more we are forgiven, the more we love. 

 46 You (Simon) did not anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume. 47 For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.” 48 Then He said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven” (Luke 7:46-48 NASB).

Doubt of God’s Love and Care

How many times have we heard or thought,  “How could a loving God allow this or that to happen?”

After all, didn’t Paul say:

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28 NASB). 

But what is our good? Is it pleasant circumstances? Is God’s purpose for us to live a comfortable life? The verse below gives us the answer.

For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren (Romans 8:29 NASB).

God’s purpose for us is to make us more like Jesus.

In the verses below, Paul despaired even of life. But, he saw God at work for His greater purpose of causing Paul to trust God and not himself.

8For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; 9indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead (II Corinthians 1:8-9 NASB).

In Conclusion

Because of Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf, we have been given the ability to have unhindered intimacy with Almighty God.

To enjoy our fellowship:

We must fight distractions and pursue unhurried time alone with God.

We must not allow any affection to supplant God as our Highest Joy.

As we follow Jesus, we must not allow guilt and shame to discourage us from communing with God.

We must remember the power of Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf to take away our sin and grant us His righteousness.

We must not forget that God is at work to give us the freedom and joy of being like Jesus.

Hallelujah.

[1] Ecclesiastes 3:11

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Joy in the Journey is about the gladness of God’s nearness in the midst of life’s adventures.

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 Novels by the Author:

Rob Buck

What happens when a professor figures out how to send messages to his younger self to try and avoid the suicide of his best friend? Did he change more than he bargained for?  Beyond Time

By finding two undelivered letters in a old shack deep in the woods, Cassie and Daniel unknowing set off a series of events which uncover a plot to wipe out a whole family Hope Remains

Exchanged Life, Freedom from Guilt

I’m for Single Payer

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All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him     (Isaiah 53:6 NASB)

Stop.

This is not a political statement. I’m not talking about single payer government health insurance. I’m talking about something personal and completely effective, one Payer, one payment.

I have a dear friend who is often haunted by his past. He’s fighting to make wise choices going forward, but sometimes guilt swoops upon him. He says it feels like a nine hundred pound gorilla pinning him down.

I can relate. Regrets from the past can steal our peace and bring us into feelings of condemnation and obligation. The “woulda,” “coulda,” and “shouldas” of life give us feelings of deficit and defeat, especially concerning our standing with God. We try to do better, but on our own, our gorilla just gets bigger.

In God’s economy there’s a different story going on. In His eyes, we all have the same sin resume.’ The playing field is level. The big monkey has us all pinned down. Try as we will, nothing we can do will free us. We need a Rescuer. Someone to free us from the strangle hold we’re in.

God’s arrangement for our freedom is counterintuitive. Only a perfect Lamb can pay the price to set us free. God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might take on His righteousness.[1] One payment, made for all; total, eternal forgiveness.

Ours is to trust, to commit to and to rely upon the Lord Jesus Christ, our Payer. He saved us, not only to cancel our debt and rescue us from eternal separation from Him, but also to make us whole; to free us to live lives of peace, hope and joy.[2]

The blood of Jesus paid for every sin: past, present and future. When we believe, we become God’s beloved child.[3]

When we make our final car payment, we receive our title. The car is finally ours. No more payment is required. If we try and pay again, the payment will be rejected. There’s no debt to apply it to.

As children of God, our debt too has been paid. Payments of religious activities, or any other ways we try and earn our place with God, can’t be applied. We’ve already been redeemed. The title of Eternal nearness to God is already ours. We can enjoying it now.

Lord, so often I feel as if you want me to do something to solidify my relationship with you. But you truly have paid it all. You don’t want me to strive. You want me to rest and allow your Spirit to have full reign of my life. Please remind me, when the world is too much with me and guilt and shame once more press in, that the gorilla is dead. You paid the price. I’m free. I’m free.

[1] II Corinthians 5:21

[2] Romans 1:8-9

[3] John 1:12

Joy in the Journey is about the gladness of God’s nearness in the midst of life’s adventures. Subscribe below to get email notifications of new posts. We post a few times a month. Thank you for reading. 

 Novels by the Author:

Beyond Time

Hope Remains

God is our Reward, The Goodness of God

What is Good?

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I’m on our back porch enjoying the breeze of a chilly spring morning. The flowers are blooming, the trees are just beginning to bud and the grass is greening. I’m soaking in the spender of “now”.  A few birds visit our feeder suspended above the wooded path to our barn. A steady flow of cascading water from our fountain forms the background rhythm for their melodious songs.

I rest in the goodness of God. When I’m present with Him, the troubles of my life are out of view. Because He’s good, I’m good.

However, when I remember my present difficulties, if I’m not careful, they can suck the good right out of me.

Psalm 73 tells a story of a man  who’s dealing with a crisis of belief. Things are not going well and he really doesn’t know what to do.

When the Psalm opens up, Asaph is in a bad way. He doesn’t like his circumstances. He’s come close to stumbling and almost slips. He feels as if he’s wasted his time keeping his heart pure. He feels stricken all day long and chastened every morning.

To add to his unrest, envy has crept in. He sees wicked people who are prideful and arrogant, yet they seem to be doing fine.  They’re not in trouble or plagued. They prosper and are even fat, which was considered a good thing back then.

Asaph feels embittered and pierced within, yet he makes a wise choice. He brings his situation honestly before God.

This is the key to what happens next. No matter what our state, no matter how badly we’ve screwed up, no matter how angry we are at God, we should follow Asaph’s example and enter God’s sanctuary.

God is always ready to hear where we are and  the honest condition of our hearts. He can handle whatever we want to dish out. The worse thing we can do is shy away from Him because of shame, guilt or disappointment.

As Asaph  talks to God, his heart begins to shift. Though his feelings haven’t changed, he sees the end of those who don’t follow God.  “Then I perceived their end. Surely You set them in slippery places; You cast them down to destruction.” Psalm 73:17b-18

Then in verse 23, a dramatic turn occurs. Talking to God he says, “Nevertheless,  I am continually with You. You have taken hold of my right hand and with Your council will guide me, and afterwards receive me to glory.”

Whatever pit we find ourselves in right this moment. Whatever evidence we see around us that life is not good, we can repeat the above words in sincerity to God, releasing our lives into His care.

Nevertheless, no matter what, God, you are with me. It is You who have taken the initiative to reach out and take my hand and lead me. It is You who guides me along the way until You receive me into Your glory.

How reassuring! This truth can completely change our perspective. It did for Aspah. See what he wrote next:

“Whom have I in heaven but you? And beside you I desire nothing on earth.”[1]

By bringing his concerns to God, even his complaints, God performed a 180 degree shift in Asaph’s heart.

Let’s recognize, as he did, that goodness is not in how our lives are going. Goodness is in God’s nearness. God is always with us and He is always good, no matter what goes on in our lives.

Asaph ended his Psalm with words which have become a truth I build my life around.

 “But as for me, the nearness of God is my good.” Psalm 73:28a

Challenge: What circumstance threatens your sense of well-being? In other words, what has to be right in your life for you to be okay? It can be very good things, a good marriage, prospering children, successful career, etc. All these “goods” can never replace the fact that we are good because our God is good. Place the Lord of your life above all of things. He is worthy. He is trustworthy. He is good.

[1] Psalm 73:25