Christianity 101: Building a Firm Foundationنموونە

Intimacy with God...

Be still, and know that I am God…
Psalm 46:10 ESV

On a long journey, the memories we often savor the most happen when we slow our pace and simply enjoy our surroundings.

We have all heard people say, I need a vacation from my vacation! They had done too much in too short a time and came home even more exhausted and stressed. We can even feel that way about our daily lives!

Yes. We live in a culture of captivity to activity. However, this is not what God intends. He never meant for us to be so busy—even with Christian endeavors—that we miss the most essential aspect of our life journey: intimate time alone with Him.

A quiet or secret place time (Matthew 6:6 NKJV) with Him will look different from one person to the next. This is not a time when we come to Him and bring our prayer requests, although the Holy Spirit may later lead us into supplication or intercession. No, the Lord is calling us to come and be with Him and experience refreshing in His felt presence. What Adam and Eve lost—we can regain (Revelation 3:20).

King David, known as a man after God’s heart, writes continually of communing with God throughout the Psalms. He describes His experiences with the Almighty: seeking Him and enjoying a feast, finding peace amid battles, experiencing abundance not dependent upon his circumstances, and realizing fullness of joy.

These intimate times with God resulted in the restoration of David’s soul—his heart, emotions, thoughts, mind, intellect, and personality.

Who doesn’t need their soul restored in this day and age?

As we read David’s Psalm 23, we notice that the Lord prepares a table, and David’s cup runs over. In the opening days of this study plan, we learned that God’s Word is a feast for our hearts. Yesterday, we read that the Holy Spirit wants to overflow our lives. Both God’s Word and the Holy Spirit are vital components of a quiet time with Jesus.

The Old Testament often uses the phrase wait on the Lord Hebrew: Qavah. This not only means waiting for His timing in our lives but more often expresses our coming expectantly into His presence and embracing Him. Qavah literally means to be entwined or bound up with God. Herein, we find strength, comfort, joy, healing, authority, and His current word to us from His written Word or what we sense He is saying to us that will always align with the Bible.

Let’s dive deeper into this lesson tomorrow…

• Consider all the aspects of intimacy with God that David describes in Psalm 23.
• How are you encouraged for your current circumstances from Psalm 27:1-5?
• Now understanding the original Hebrew word for wait, ponder Psalm 27:14.
• What are God’s promises regarding time in His presence from Psalm 16:11?
• What speaks to your heart from Psalm 36:7-9?