Intimacy

B.J. Knefley

I’m an early riser, sometimes as early as 4am. My routine is simple, turn on the coffee and then the light over the stove. Once that is completed, Molly (my dog) and I go outside so she can do her business. Once completed, I make my coffee and sit down in the recliner next to the window. Molly will snuggle up beside me with her head on my lap, (quite a feat for a 55lb dog). Once settled we sit in the darkness and silence. I might check out the news and weather and will often look at a short devotional. This morning the subject was intimacy.

I think God wants intimacy from us as do our spouses and others, but how well do we enter in? Is it easy to be intimate with others? With God? I’m not referring to physical intimacy, but rather that area of our lives that’s buried deep within our very being. It’s that area that we keep hidden, that we tend to protect. Intimacy of this nature requires vulnerability and that scares most people. We often want it from others, but reluctant to provide it to others. Why is that?

Intimacy requires trust, whether it be from God or another person. Trust is first earned. We give a little to see how it’s going to be handled then we may give a little more. Each time we give a little of ourselves we wait to see how the other will handle it. If they do well, we take the next step. If they don’t, we pull back. Some have been so wounded that trust and intimacy is virtually impossible. Perhaps that’s you.

At different times God asks us to put him to the test, to see if he’s trustworthy. To do so we need to get quiet, to listen, which isn’t easy for many. But like a person, sometimes we just need to sit with them as part of developing intimacy. Sitting, listening, watching, and just observing their nature. You can learn a lot from just listening, but we must quiet ourselves in the process. Think about it.