Christian Writers Circle

Intimacy ~ In The Silence Of Our Soul

by

Kathleen Shore

There is a chosen place of quiet that I rarely miss out on. It’s that thirty minutes before our four children are awake each morning when I come to life as I sip my coffee and eat of God’s word. This peaceful time in His presence that has become my source and well to drink from is a discipline that God desires of us. But there is a deeper place of quiet… a stillness that has a far greater eternal value. Maybe not one we would choose, but one that is delivered to us by God’s own hand of providence. This is the silence within the stillness of our soul.

This place is most often hidden in dark or difficult circumstances, covered over with uncomfortable restricting vines and has occupancy for only one. Yet it is the very place that reveals answers without words…. a place where His still small voice echoes a knowing in your spirit of “total resolve” to everything around you in the natural which seems contrary to Him and His promises. This is the silencing of our soul. And to the degree that we will surrender to God and give ourselves over to Him in this place, will be the measure which we experience His intimacy and the outpouring of His presence.

During my pursuit of God’s heartbeat as I began to write this piece, a visual aide came to mind from my childhood. I recalled a particular strength training exercise we were made to undergo on the swim team. Put in teams of two, the drill was for one of us to swim out to the deep end of the pool and begin to tread water. The coach would then give a signal for their partner on the side to go in and rescue them. But, the one who was to be rescued was not to stop treading water until the coach blew her whistle. So when given the signal, we dove in. As I reached my partner, I swam to her backside, wrapped my right arm up around her mid section and laid her head on my right shoulder. But because of her treading water, I found myself in more of a wrestling match instead of a rescue operation. Keeping calm (as I had been taught), I continued to reposition her head back on my shoulder in a restful place so that I could pull her to the edge of the pool. Just before my exhaustion gave way to frustration, the whistle blew and finally… she stopped treading water. Her body gave way to the restful position that allowed me to do what she so needed and desired from me.

And there it was again… Father’s heart clearly beating His repetitive message.

Our need is not for the wind and the waves around us to stop so that we could have peace and be rescued. Our need is for the Almighty God to overtake us. And all of Him will be ours if we would be still within our soul amidst the raging storm, silencing the agitation of our anxious fearful thoughts, emotions and words – believing that His miraculous arm IS mighty to save.

God speaks over and over in His word, choose Me over what “self” wants or how your flesh desires to respond. Lay your head back upon My chest… trust me and receive My rescue that is already right beside you.

Rev. Alexander Maclaren (b. 1826) wrote:

What disturbs us in this world is not “trouble,” but rather our opposition to trouble. The true source of all that frets and irritates, and wears away our lives, is not in external things, but in the resistance of our will to the perfect will of God in our external things. The one misery of man is self-will; the one secret of blessedness is the conquest over our own will.

Oh my friend, it is we who exhaust ourselves in our earthly circumstances that whip through our day like a torrent, thinking that if all this going on around us would just stop and everything would go our way, we could have peace and quiet… we would be without our ugly flesh uprising and live in the desired place of His abiding presence.

In perfect orchestrated timing, God followed up my childhood remembrance with an email from a beautiful woman of God, named Anne Graham-Lotz. She was calling believers upward to a new level of unified prayer. And although I was in agreement with her entire message, I could not get past her opening statement. She wrote, “As you may know, my husband is in declining health. I am no longer traveling and speaking as much as I have for the last 26 years since I am staying home to care for him. As a result, I have had time to be quiet and listen more to the whispers of the Spirit. He has revealed things to me in the stillness that I’m not sure I would have heard in my former busyness.”

I was so taken by Him in Anne’s peace-filled comment. Out of her surrender to the Father in the new season of her life, she spoke of the very truth Father was asking me to write about.

Most often, it is within our natural circumstances that we desire to see our victories. We stamp our feet declaring scripture over injustices done to us; we take authority over painful situations in Jesus name… all the while it is not within earthly difficulties that our victories lie. Oh yes, Father God may bless us by His own choosing to have circumstances go the way we would like them to. But it is upon the battlefield of our soul within being hard pressed on every side that we are to seek after and war for our victory…. which is to be still and know; to be satisfied with a greater likeness of Jesus Christ within us as our trophy for each battle won, not an earthly gain.

Psalm 46:10 NIV

Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in all the earth.

Exodus 14:14 NIV

The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.

1 Samuel 12:16 NIV

Now then, stand still and see this great thing the Lord is about to do before your eyes!

Psalms 37:7 NIV

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;

Would you bow your knees with me and ask Father God to complete His perfect work in us through all the circumstances of our day; that the example of Jesus Christ would become our very character and likeness, seen by all who look into the arena of our lives.

And if it is helpful, let us challenge ourselves with this question, “Is it not the painful adversity we are facing, that is escorting us into a deeper intimate place with our Lord?”

Longing for Intimacy

by Brenda D. Flowers

People long for intimacy. We may not speak about this longing, but it is there. . . in us.

Why? We want someone to love us for who we are, overlooking our flaws and our mistakes. We want someone to spend time with us, knowing us without our having to say any words.

Intimacy is deep love. It is immeasureable. It is everlasting. Intimacy can only happen when two are of one spirit.

As I write these words, I realize, Lord, You are the only one with whom I can have true intimacy. You formed me. You know me inwardly and outwardly and You love every part of me. You look past the mistakes I have made to Your creation. I am Your beautiful design. You know my thoughts without me saying a word. You love spending time with me. You, Holy Spirit, abide with me to comfort and guide me. Jesus, You are my lover. We are one.

I embrace You and appreciate Your tenderness with me. Your whispers of love encourage me and I know a pleasure of communion only You can give.

Thank you, God, for creating mankind to long for Your intimacy. I pray more people by reading these words will realize their need for quiet time with You and will come to You. I know You are waiting with open arms and a heartfelt embrace.

We love Him because He first loved us. 1 John 4:19 NKJV

Intimacy with Christ through Love
by Judy Hitson

I Corinthians 13:13 NASB But now abide faith, hope and love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Let us refresh our faith in Christ, our Blessed Hope and bask in the greatest of these, love. Consider love as a Person for God is love (I John 4:8, 16) and receive as a personal word to you, John 15:9 NKJV Jesus said, “As the Father has loved Me, I also have loved you. Abide in My love.” Soak these words into the depths of your being. Selah….. Think slowly on these things.

Pause….. Think of “Jesus Loves Me” as a song written just for you. With child-like faith, ponder the lyrics a moment and be drawn into His love for you.”Jesus loves me! This I know, for the Bible tells me so”…

As we learn to receive God’s love, we learn to love Him because He first loved us, I John 4:19. My first understanding that God loves me, came as a revelation while I was pregnant reading, “The Child Within” by Mari Hanes. To tell you the truth, it brought me to tears. There I was a grown woman who came to the Lord late, active in Bible studies, busy as a church volunteer and finally understood God’s love for me. How about you? Is the love of God shed abroad in your heart? (Romans 5:5)

Intimacy with Christ through love helps us mature in Christ. We have an inner desire to be with the Lord and find the Spirit woos us to come into His presence and experience the depths of His love. Deep calls to deep.

Through the Scriptures on love, we learn God’s perspective. Romans 8:35 NKJV Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written: “For your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” 37 “Yet through all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us 38 for I am persuaded that neither death or life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present , nor things to come, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

   When we understand God’s love, that nothing can separate us from His love, we are better able to persevere in the tests, trials and tribulations of life. The Lord has much to say on love in His word. As we experience intimacy with Christ through love, we are able to love others with the love of God.

In closing, let us heed Paul’s charge to us in Ephesians 5: 1-2 NIV Be IMITATORS of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.  

Intimacy with Christ through Wisdom

by Judy Hitson

Psalm 90:12 NASB So teach us to number our days, That we may present to Thee a heart of wisdom.

Do you relate to the LORD in intimate conversation as we read of the Psalmist here? That is a wow factor to me. How about you? This verse reveals the significance for us to gain wisdom in our daily lives. We don’t know the number of our days on earth. Only God does. Our times are in His hands, Ps. 30:15. May we learn how to live each day of our lives from a heart of wisdom as we prepare to meet our God.

We gain a heart of wisdom as we learn and understand wisdom. Who better to teach us than God Himself and what better source do we have than His word, the Bible? There is none. Take note of the beginning of wisdom: Proverbs 9:10 NASB The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. So let us look to the LORD with awe and reverence; to know and understand Him, the Holy One.   

We also learn Godly wisdom from others who know the Lord and walk in His ways. Who comes to mind that has taught you wisdom of God through their lives?

Are you gaining a heart of wisdom through the word of God and through wise men and women of God? Are you growing in intimacy with Christ through wisdom?

Some say the book of Proverbs in the Bible is the book of Wisdom. There we find a contrast of the wise and foolish, of the righteous and wicked and see the contrast of these lifestyles.

In the letters to the Corinthians, Paul writes on the wisdom of God, the wisdom of the world and human or fleshly wisdom. He prays in Ephesians 1:17 for the Ephesians to be given a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him (Jesus Christ).

What is wisdom?

First, I think of wisdom as a Person, Jesus Christ. Consider Paul writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that Christ is the wisdom of God and is the wisdom of God to us, 1Cor. 1:24, 30. Selah….. think slowly on this.

The revelation of wisdom in the person of Jesus Christ came to me as I learned about Him and from Him through the New Testament and discovered Him in the Old Testament. For example, through the book of Proverbs, I began to see Him as Wisdom.

After prayer and searching to understand wisdom, I have come to the conclusion from a Biblical viewpoint that wisdom is walking in an intimate love relationship with Jesus Christ by the Spirit in right living that honors Him.

Phil. 2:6-7  we find although He existed in the form of God that He emptied Himself in the form of a man. The Deity of Jesus Christ is a crucial revelation for us Christians to understand and walk in wisdom.

Intimacy with Christ through Limitations by Judy Hitson

2 Corinthians 4:16 NKJV Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.

Can you think of limitations in your life? For me, it is through aging. The time of life when we slow down and cannot perform as we did at the prime of our life in our thoughts or actions. Disabilities cause limitations whether young or old. Whatever the situation, let us consider renewing our inner man and not let restrictions of the outer man weigh heavy on our mind or keep us from what God has in store for us. There are eternal benefits when we see from God’s perspective.

Do you have reoccurring thoughts that can cause you to lose heart? One I have is, “I’m too old. It’s too late. I’ve missed it.” This was a constant, harassing thought until I discerned it was from the enemy. I learned to refuse it in the name of Jesus Christ and stand on promises from God’s word. For example, “our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed.”

With limitations in your life, do you draw near to the Lord or do you lose heart? When we draw near to God, He draws near to us and we cultivate an intimate love relationship with Him. He reveals His ways for us to fulfill our God-given destiny. As I contemplate limitations people are faced with, I recall caring for an accident victim as a young nurse. It was overwhelming to see a young, beautiful woman paralyzed from the neck down after a tragic fall from a horse. Her life was forever changed. Hopes and dreams were shattered. I don’t know the outcome of her life but the memory of her hospital stay remains fresh in my mind. The Lord helped me understand when a person loses their physical ability, they can still have a full life in Christ. You may know about Joni Erickson Tada who became a paraplegic following a diving accident. Yet through her devastating limitations, she grew in the Lord as a global minister to others with physical disabilities and she is blessed in a marriage relationship to Ken Tada.

When struggling with limitations on earth, let us surrender to the Lord in intimate fellowship with Him and with people of God, staying attune to His Spirit guiding us. In this way, earthly limitations cannot hinder our intimacy with Christ. As we hear His voice, He speaks words of life that matter for eternity. Let us refuse harassing thoughts of enemies of our flesh, the world and the devil. God is with us. Let us find rest in His everlasting arms of love, be still, soak in His presence and receive fullness of joy. He understands our earthly struggles with limitations. He will fulfill hopes and dreams for us. When disappointment or discouragement come, let us look to the living God, receive His appointment for our lives and be encouraged to enjoy life in Him through Christ who gives us strength.

Prayer: Praise and thanksgiving to You Father in heaven, for sending Your Son to earth and leaving Your Holy Spirit who gives us life, to live in the Spirit and not be hindered by limitations on earth. Strengthen our inner man to persevere to the end. Amen.

Intimacy in The Desert Places

by

Kathleen Shore

As I listen all around me, I hear the sound of a grave condition…. no, not the moans of painful suffering within earthly circumstances. But the condition of a generation of people who are so unaware of Father God’s intentions within their desert places. And so, they live like prey to circling vultures, unplugged from their power source, full of confusion, vacant of joy, and blindfolded from the hope set before us; our Lord Jesus Christ.

They live tossed about like a wave of the sea…. one moment full of excitement in believing His Sovereign Lordship while boldly praying, “Your will be done!” And the next, running from difficult places God’s hand of providence has led them to because it didn’t feel good or it wasn’t what they thought it should be.

But scripture continues to pave the Way of the Lord into our hearts and minds through the joy of His fellowship, in suffering.

Isaiah 43 NET

(vs. 19) “Look, I am about to do something new. Now it begins to happen! Do you not recognize it? Yes, I will make a road in the desert and paths in the wilderness.”

Why would he ask us, “Do you not recognize it?”

I believe it is because God’s ways are not our ways, and our thoughts are not His thoughts. He is steering us to see Father’s intentions within the painful desert places when all we can think about is what we see with our natural eyes.

But if we would simply live captivated by His love of us, we wouldn’t care what our earthly circumstances “felt” like. If we would fully surrender and trust that He is doing a new thing, we would begin to know Him as our Oasis in our painful circumstances, right here and now.

Isaiah 35 NIV

(vs. 1)The desert and the parched land will be glad. (vs. 7) The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground, bubbling springs. In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow. (vs. 8) And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness. (vs. 10)….only the redeemed will walk there.

You see God’s highway of holiness, which is the likeness of His son Jesus – The Way is being paved in us through our desert places.

This treasure was delivered to me through the darkness of severe physical pain when the Neurologist diagnosed me with Multiple Sclerosis.

I remember a few months later on a lighthearted Saturday morning with the family, while working hard to regain my normal routine, I came to the end of being able to hold it together through the pain and gave way to tears. Melting to the kitchen floor while scratching at my skin I prayed aloud to God, “Please Father, make it stop! You are my Healer and my relief! Oh Jesus, I need You….” And there He was. The Great Rider mounted upon His horse as my Prince of Peace, just waiting to hear me say, “I need You.” And in that moment, clearer than the visible scars on my MRI, Father’s words seared my heart.

“Intimacy with Me in your desert places.”

The Prince of Peace moved all over me like a river, and calmed my body as my eyes became fixed on the vision He set before me.

Hosea 2:14, 15 NIV

I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her. There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor (The Valley of Trouble) a door of hope.

O love of His very life, God’s intimate presence is alluring us into places so that we would know Him more distinctly and most intimately. He is divinely fashioning circumstances just to draw our attention back to His passionate love of us. And all we want is for Him to make it stop….

Have we not had enough of seeking His hand and not His face?

After being turned to the nearness of my Lord through that moment of conviction on the kitchen floor, I spoke to my children who were at my side with love and concern for their mom. More than teaching them something, I needed to hear the answer to my question from little voices outside of my own head, and I knew they would give it to me.

“Just because we don’t like a particular circumstance,” I spoke slowly to them, “Does that mean that it’s not from God?” I knew the exact moment the answer entered their minds by the look upon their faces. “No….” They quietly spoke back to me with wide eyes and reverent fear.

Prayer:

Father, I bow my knee to You and repent for wanting Your presence but only when its how I like it. I say again, that You are trustworthy and I want what You have for me. I want to be a vessel of Your presence that is used for Your pleasure, no matter what that looks like. I’m all Yours. Amen

May we come to live with one singular desire….

May we seek to have no other reward….

May we be found consumed with His love of us.

Intimacy with Christ through Forgiveness
by Judy Hitson

Matthew 6: 14-15 ESV For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Finding myself unable to relate to a person that I formerly looked forward to seeing, presented an awkward situation, not only for me, but for all who gathered for dinner at the restaurant. Her negativity disturbed me. Was her heart hardened? Can she hear God’s voice? Or is it unforgiveness in my own heart? The astounding reality hit when the Lord revealed my need to get the log out of my own eye before trying to get the speck out of hers. This process must start with forgiveness in my heart.

Though this loved one knows the Lord, the complaining and gossip made me angry. I wanted to say as a mother to a child, “Enough! No more!” Instead I didn’t want to talk. I was angry wanting to shake some sense into her that she would see her sin; missing my own.

The Lord spoke two words to me. I received them for her. It is a good thing I kept them to myself because another sister in Christ confronted me saying, “We don’t think you want to be with us.” She was right. I did not. I admitted I was having a difficult time with the complaining and gossip and didn’t want to hear it anymore. The confronter said, “The Lord showed me she is like the Israelites right now with complaining. My concern for you, Judy, is not wanting you to get bitter. I was in that state with someone. When I forgave and went to see her, I got rid of that evil spirit and never want to be in that state again.” I was thankful to hear her testimony of forgiveness and deliverance from bondage of a bitter spirit.

The Lord convicted me of my need of change. I thought I had gotten the log out of my own eye, only to discover I was in the midst of the process. It was not time to confront the woman I was angry with, knowing God prepares our heart to confront with truth in love, not anger.

The Lord also revealed that the measure I judged came back on me, Matt. 7:2, and if I was offended by a brother to go to that brother. I thought I had, but failed to see unforgiveness in my heart. In the past, the Lord blessed me to forgive from the heart after a time of bondage with tormentors in my mind. I experienced being like the unmerciful servant, Matt.18: 21-35, and never want to be in that state again. The Lord delivered me and I am grateful.

Prayer: Lord fill me with Your forgiveness in my heart towards my sister.

In the present situation, I take time to confess my sins, 1John1:9, find rest in the Lord, Matt.11:28-30; Ps. 37:7 and wait patiently to hear Him. He will instruct me and teach me in the way I should go; He will guide me with His eye, Ps. 32:8. I taste and see the Lord is good, Ps. 34:8.

The two words I heard from the Lord was first a hymn, “We shall Overcome.” The second was a word Joyce Meyer spoke in regards to the Israelites, “Complain and remain or praise and be raised.” Yes the Lord spoke those words to me and for me. Thankful for being confronted with my sin that I may be free to love and forgive. Getting angry like Moses is a trap I’ve been in before. Praise God for conviction of sin to draw close to the Lord and walk in true repentance.

 Intimacy

by Brenda D. Flowers

In the quiet moments,

Now, My Savior comes to me

To meet me and refresh me

In my deepest longings.

My Lover of my soul

Amazes me as He speaks.

Continually I am

Yearning for Him to lead.