31 God Chooses Intimacy
GOD CHOOSES INTIMACY
Intimate friends share secrets.
I’m a people person, and it just comes naturally to confide in a friend, seek sympathy when I’m hurt, or look for approval if I complete a painting I’m especially pleased with.
Almost everybody engages in those sorts of social bonds. A rainbow of personal dynamics flows between us.We develop frank habits in our relationships—action and interaction. Even our trustfulness, our eagerness to find some ear for our most sacred secrets, demonstrates that we’re people dependent. The satisfaction we find in sharing our hopes and cares and wrongs with those who care about us is a sign we are finite and frail. So very, very human.
God, on the other hand, is a mystery.
He holds back many things to remind us of His unapproachable majesty and perfection. Unlike us, He often remains silent. A silence that tells us He is totally self-sufficient. No matter what you’ve heard, God doesn’t need our help. He doesn’t need anything. If He so chooses, God can accomplish all of His desires without the slightest cooperation of one of us. “Whom did the LORD consult to enlighten him, and who taught him the right way?” asks the prophet Isaiah. “Who was it that taught him knowledge or showed him the path of understanding?” (Isaiah 40:14).
The answer, of course, is no one.
But here’s the marvel. Although God is totally self-sufficient, He chooses to become intimate with the men and women He has bought for Himself. He chooses to involve Himself in our lives. There’s a little verse in Psalm 25 which astounds me every time I think of it.
The LORD confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them.
V. 14
Other translations say, “The Lord is intimate with those who fear Him.” The Amplified Bible renders it like this: “The secret of the sweet satisfying companionship of the Lord have they who fear (revere and worship) Him, and He will show them His covenant and reveal to them its deep, inner meaning.”
God doesn’t need to, but He shares His secrets with me. He gets personal and intimate. He lets down His guard. He draws me into quiet conversation. He invites me into His confidence. Me!
The Lord of creation certainly doesn’t need little old me. He doesn’t require my advice. He doesn’t need my attention, emotional support, or listening ear. He can go about His business as though I never existed. (He seemed to manage just fine before I was born.) He doesn’t have to stoop so low as to use a broken, earthen vessel such as myself. It is only by His unbelievable grace that He calls my simple labor an actual service to Himself. He permits, even solicits my help.
And to think He would whisper the secrets of His heart into my ear!
But here’s the catch. Usually we reserve our intimate secrets and confidences for those with whom we are especially buddy-buddy. Not so with God. God reserves intimacies for those who fear Him. Those who hold Him in awe and deep respect. Those who revere His name.
I’m overwhelmed at His great glory, His total self-sufficiency, His holiness and completeness. But I’m even more overwhelmed when I consider that God, by His own choice, makes His covenants known to you and me. Insecure, frail, stumbling you and me.
That’s a secret I can hardly keep to myself.
A Step Closer
Then the LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?”
GENESIS 18:17
The LORD detests a perverse man but takes the upright into his confidence.
PROVERBS 3:32
Friendship with God! The Almighty Sovereign of the Universe
taking the likes of you and me into His confidence.
Begin your prayers to God today by praising Him for His
justice—so mighty and merciful—
for His white-hot holiness,
for His limitless power. Bow low before Him, even literally
getting down on your face, if you are able. Give Him the
honor due His name. It is this God, this great King,
who chooses to reveal secrets to those who fear Him.