INTIMACY DOES NOT COME CHEAP

When mobile phones were just getting popular, there were just a few people who had phones, and there were a few places where we had connections; I remember my parents would drive quite some distance to find the network to make calls. It was a sacrifice.

When it improved, I remember hanging the phone on the window at the exact spot where the network was strong enough. I would then connect an earpiece that will drop from the height where the phone was to the level where I was standing. 

I would stand for hours talking with friends and my lover. I did not feel the pain or pressure of standing. It did not even feel like a sacrifice. It was fun. 

There is a price to pay for intimacy. You do not slide into intimacy. You have to be deliberate to enjoy it. You oil relationships until intimacy is established. 

The literal translation of an intimate or bosom friend in our language is “a friend that you must sleep before you sleep. If you do not see that particular friend, you cannot sleep”. 

You cannot become intimate with the Lord if you are not willing to pay the price. There is a price to pay. 

First, you should know that you are as close to God as you choose to be. You must draw near to Him deliberately. It is not just based on your convenience. You must plan for it deliberately. Any distractions that will make you double-minded must be treated as a threat to your intimacy with God. 

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

James 4:8 NKJV

Second, you draw near in fellowship. Fellowship with God will mean you are a student of God’s Word, and you do not joke with prayer. Abraham was an altar builder in his days. God would later say of Abraham: 

The Lord said, “Shall I keep secret from Abraham [My friend and servant] what I am going to do,

 Genesis 18:17 AMP

Third, you must not toil with sin. Someone said of the Bible, “This book will keep you away from sin, or sin will keep you away from the Bible,” and another person said, “A praying man will find it hard to sin, and a sinning man will find it hard to pray. Sin will either choke prayer or prayer will choke sin”. 

For instance, a person who truly loves you is also jealous over you. For instance, I get jealous when the children seem to have stolen Irewamiri’s attention at critical times. Do you know that God is jealous over you? 

(for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God),

 Exodus 34:14 NKJV

It is a dishonour to allow other things to replace a loving God. Never let it happen. A lover must never feel like he or she has to fight for space in your life. In the same way, your love for God must be distinct from every other relationship. 

Build intimacy. Invest in your God-walk! 

temilOluwa Ola, Eruwa.