It's the hard thing such as being "OPEN" that will produce greater intimacy.
When you willingly allow yourself to be completely open to God, you give him full access.
You expose insecurities, concerns, issues, sins, fears. The very existence of who you are; as you present yourself to your very own creator who delights into what he already knows about you.
When open, you give him room to teach you how to confront your insecurities, fears, and any other goliaths. He shows the warrior inside of you. He wants a deeper connection to help expose rotten fruits.
How open are we now with God?
Let's fact it, it's difficult. There are a few obstacles we must overcome.
What may be some of the reasons we have a hard time being completely open before God?
1. Our willingness to clean up before we answer his knock.
"Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends." Revelations 3:20
Our first impression of knowing God wants to intimately be apart of our lives is trying to make sure we're clean before he comes knocking. Jesus wants to make his home in our hearts."But it's dirty God?" We want to make sure that we are prepared, and little do we realize its our stress within the preparation that makes us not even want to meet with him at all. We think too much of our issues and or sins and assume we have to clean the mess in order for Christ to even deal with us. See, the purpose of him wanting to make a home in your heart is for the very purpose of being the only one that wants to clean it up. Jesus will sit right in the middle of your mess. But you must be open to allow him to sit there.
He says, "You don't have to feel responsible for your mess because i've already taken care of that. I just want to sit with you, regardless of what's in the way of me sitting on your couch. I WILL move it out the way so that our time isn't interrupted. Let's still sit and talk. I just desire for you to be open with me. But that's if you let me in."
"God is a gentleman. He's not going to invade your life, you're going to have to let him in." -
Michael Todd
We have to let Christ in completely because in doing so, we give him access to areas that are broken and needs the most work. I can remember purposely not answering the knock on my heart because I just didn't feel ready. I didn't think that I could speak to him at a time like that because I was still living in my habitual sin. Those sins kept me out of his presence, and every time he knocked. I would play it off as if he wasn't there. And Jesus still wouldn't leave because of his unconditional love and knowing what I needed. I think it makes Jesus laugh when we scramble all over the place, trying to throw things behind the couch, under the bed, and anywhere else just to make it seem like we were clean in the first place. He chuckles at the thought of his children trying to doing so much on their own because he just cares so darn much to help.
God knocks because he cares. If there's an issue with one of his children, he'll make it his business to see what's wrong. Sure, you may be thinking.. "God knows what I am already going through, there isn't a reason to talk about it." But it is when you do talk about it with him, that something supernaturally intervenes and becomes the hope that you've been looking for. It's being open and direct about the matters of your heart with him that produces that greater intimacy.
I remember being on my way to work when the Lord spoke to me and said, "I'm available to you 24 hours a day, if you want to talk to me about the sun. Let's talk about the sun. If you want to talk to me about this bus ride, that's about the make you miss your next bus. We can talk about that. It's the little conversations that still matters to me too and it's within those little conversations that you will begin to believe more that I stay with you and do delight in your conversations with me."
God never meant for our relationship with him to be complicated. Its relationship when you speak about anything, and you know your heart is directed to him. Think about how he delights in that? Sometimes things can be practical such as making it your business to invite the Holy Spirit with you everywhere you go, every morning. When we acknowledge the Holy Spirit and allow him to have access to everywhere we go, we are making more room for the more personal stuff he wants to get access to.
Think of your bestfriend.. What's your energy like when you speak to her/him? Doesn't it give you joy when you are able to just pour your heart out to your bestfriend? And why do you pour your heart out to your bestfriend? Because you believe that you can tell your bestfriend anything right? Because you trust your bestfriend with the information you will share?
That same amount of energy you give to your bestfriend is the same energy Jesus would love to have. I got convicted by writing that because I love my bestfriend and I would tell her anything, but I also thought about the openness I wanted to share with Christ. In my mind I would go "I really want to give Jesus that same energy!!." And weeks leading up to this blog post, God has been dealing with the matters of my heart and have been teaching me how to be open with him. He said to me, "Don't be afraid to open up to me about anything. I'm not like human beings, who will speak badly about or against you after you've spent that moment being vulnerable."
2. Our Vulnerability being abused.
Have you've been vulnerable enough to people that somehow abused it? And you've harden your heart? You don't feel comfortable speaking about anything in your life anymore because you are scared someone is going to use it against you?
I understand your heart when I touch on this subject because I am such a vulnerable person. I would speak about the things that are going on in my life and feel too opened in the end because of those feelings of "being misunderstood" I felt like I opened up to the wrong people then, but God gave me wisdom to know that you won't always open up to everyone nor try to get anybody to understand you. They will understand you on the level they choose to perceive. What God is more concerned about is your level of openness with him. When you shut out your vulnerability, you didn't notice you shut it out from God. He wanted to be the one you poured your heart out to daily. Granted, God will place the right people in your life that will sincerely care for you and you will be able to speak with them about what's going on. But making sure that you are just as open with him is the most important.
Again, it's the hard thing such as being open, that will produce greater intimacy.
It's hard being completely open to God. We don't know how nor do we think about it. But always remember that the greater depth of intimacy with God is complete honesty. Be honest with God in telling him that you just can't seem to be as open as you desire me to be. Speak directly from that place of what will embarrass you to say and know that God is not embarrassed by your honesty, he's flattered. Honestly is the first key to that greater intimacy. It's making the first step that adds to a greater journey. It's running to him that makes the difference from when you were use to running to that friend or family member.
It's allowing your heart to be humbled before the Lord and giving him the chance to pour in truth to you so that your trust is solely in him.
The fact that our lives is completely known by God, there is nothing we could possibly keep from him. Therefore, Let us welcome him back into our business. Welcome him back into the deepest parts of ourselves that we've enclosed from him. Let's welcome him back to everything.
Dear Lord,
Help us to be completely open to you. Your unconditional love is what keeps us going. We've got a friend in you. Your complete loyalty and support keeps us in your presence that we never get tired of sharing every moment with you. I pray that we open ourselves like we've never done before. Get in the areas that we've shut off from you and help us to trust you. Help us to know that you listen and you care. You don't take anything we say to you and run with it. You hold that dear to your heart and you take care of it. You remind us that we are your children and that you will never leave us. Help us to see intimacy with you on a greater level, and to remember that even the small things matter to you. You never miss a moment and you never want us to miss one too.
In Jesus Name' Amen
