Tag Archives: intimacy with god

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – The Purpose of Spiritual Highs

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Hebrews 11:17-19

The Lord doesn’t offer us tremendous spiritual experiences simply so we may boast or witness something marvelous. Instead, He uses them to foster genuine faith. They are part of His unique process for maturing us as disciples of Jesus.

God gives us spiritual highs for several reasons: to unveil Himself in a fresh way, to prepare us for the valley, and ultimately to teach us obedience. The lessons we learn from Him in those special moments of peak revelation are intended to carry us through harder times. Then we can look back and remember what He taught on the mountaintop.

But this means that when the Lord gives us a glimpse of glory, we can expect to be tried later. If we fail, He’ll test us again. And He will keep testing until the trials become triumphs in our life. Every pupil must be put to the test, and those who obey bring honor to God’s name.

An exceptional spiritual encounter with Jesus Christ is intended to encourage our growth, deepen our intimacy with God, and develop obedience. It is also designed to enhance our motivation to serve the Lord with all our heart, giving ourselves without reservation for His work and His glory.

Treasure each and every thing God teaches you in your prayer closet—during times of profound worship, in a moment of deep devotion, or when you’re all alone, listening and intimately conversing with Him. Every moment of your life is ripe for growth and spiritual maturity. If you let the Lord shape you and lead you on the path of obedience, He’ll take you to even greater heights.

Bible in One Year: Zechariah 1-5

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Walking by Faith

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John MacArthur

“By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death; and he was not found because God took him up; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God” (Heb 11:5).

When you walk by faith, you enjoy intimacy with God.

Our second hero of faith is Enoch. Genesis 5:21-24 records that “Enoch lived sixty-five years, and became the father of Methuselah. Then Enoch walked with God three hundred years after he became the father of Methuselah, and he had other sons and daughters. So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.”

What a wonderful epitaph: “Enoch walked with God.” His life exemplifies the walk of faith. Adam and Eve had walked with God in the Garden of Eden, but their sin separated them from such intimacy. Enoch experienced the fellowship with God they had forfeited.

Enoch’s faithful walk pleased God greatly. And after more than three hundred years on earth, Enoch was translated to heaven without ever experiencing death. It’s as if God simply said, “Enoch, I enjoy your company so much, I want you to join me up here right now.”

Like Enoch, there is coming a generation of Christians who will never see death. Someday—perhaps soon—Jesus will return for His church, “then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up . . . in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord” (1 Thess. 4:17). Enoch is a beautiful picture of that great future event, which we call the rapture of the church.

As you walk with God, He delights in you. You’re His child and your praises and fellowship bring Him joy. Psalm 116:15 says, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His godly ones.” Even death itself simply ushers you into His presence for all eternity.

Let the joy of intimacy with God, and the anticipation of seeing Christ face to face—either by rapture or by death— motivate you to please Him more and more each day of your life.

Suggestions for Prayer

Thank God for the promise of Christ’s return.

For Further Study

Read 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.

  • What events surround the rapture of the church?
  • How were the Thessalonians to respond to Paul’s teaching about the rapture?
  • How should you respond?
Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – When We Feel Lonely

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Charles Stanley

Psalm 25:15-18

As believers, we have a Father who loves us and desires the best for us. We are part of a large spiritual family with many brothers and sisters. But if that’s the case, why do we sometimes still feel lonely, even when there’s no major crisis in our lives?

The greatest loneliness man can experience is due to separation from the Father. This is a spiritual problem whose source is sin. We experience a break in our close fellowship with the Lord when we disobey Him and go our own way. The remedy is confession (1 John 1:9), which leads to restored fellowship with God. If we refuse to admit our sin, the separation grows worse.

Busyness and preoccupation with earthly affairs also cause this isolation. Sometimes we push aside time with God in order to fulfill our obligations. Or we might focus so heavily on daily living that we ignore Him. To overcome loneliness, spend time reconnecting with God through His Word—take in the knowledge of His deep, abiding love, and meditate on His great promises (Eph. 3:16-18).

Being in harmony with the Lord renews our purpose and energy for life. Then that sense of isolation lessens, hope replaces discouragement, and our focus shifts from “self” to others. It’s important to reconnect with people, so look for opportunities to practice the “one anothers”—encouraging, serving, loving, and supporting those around you.

When David felt isolated and lonely, he turned to the Lord and sought His help. Intimacy with God is both the antidote to loneliness and protection from it.

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God’s Purposes in Our Difficulties – Charles Stanley

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Romans 8:28-29

If we could choose the number of difficulties we would face in a month, most of us would pick zero. Yet the Lord sees value in troublesome times. Through His mighty power, He uses trials to achieve His plans.

One of God’s purposes for us is a growing intimacy in our relationship with Him. But He knows we struggle to put Him first over our own interests. Many of us place higher priority on family and friends than on companionship with God. For others, finances, the workplace, or even pleasures interfere. When the Lord sees our attention is drifting away from Him, He might use hardships to draw us back so that we’ll give Him His proper place.

Another reason God allows difficulties is to conform us to the image of Jesus. Pain is a tool that brings areas of ungodliness to the surface; God also uses it to sift, shape, and prune us. The sanctification process—the building of Christlike character into our lives—starts at salvation and ends with our last breath.

A third aim for stressful circumstances is to reveal true convictions. Our faith is tested in tough times. It’s easy to say, “God is good” when things are peaceful. But when everything goes awry, what do we believe about Him? At such times, do our words and actions reveal an attitude of trust?

King David endured many heartaches—a disintegrating family, personal attacks, and betrayal by those close to Him. But through trials, he gained deeper intimacy with God, stronger faith, and more godly character. Won’t you let the Lord use your present situation to accomplish His good purpose?

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Intimacy with God – Charles Stanley

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Psalm 63:1-11

For Christians, it’s fairly simple to notice other people filling their God-shaped void with all the wrong things. It’s much harder, though, to see that same error in our own redeemed lives. We all too easily get busy for God—serving, singing, teaching, preaching, and going to the mission field. None of these things are wrong; in fact, they’re all good. But they’re often a misguided attempt to create a false sense of intimacy with God.

Why would any believer choose artificial closeness with the Lord when He wants to give His children the real thing? Two reasons: first, being known by God requires intense vulnerability and the humility to receive His grace. There is nothing we can do for the Lord or give to Him that will atone for our sins. Second, all successful friendships require hard work, and that holds true for our relationship with God as well.

To really know the Lord, you have to read the Bible—all of it. And you cannot maintain a close relationship with your heavenly Father if you ignore His principles. You must, therefore, fill your mind with godly things and forego worldly influences. In addition, a vibrant prayer life is essential to intimacy with God. These things don’t just happen; they require intentional effort.

Simply put, when we satisfy our thirst with living water, we’re no longer thirsty. When we live in intimate communion with God, the temptation to strive for saintliness in our own strength falls away. And our service, offerings, and worship, stripped of any self-serving motives, genuinely glorify God.

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Hunger and Thirst for God – Charles Stanley

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Isaiah 55:1-5

The story of David inspires us to want an intimate relationship with God. But where does that kind of passion come from? It is not manufactured or created by effort or will power. And we cannot work ourselves into a state of genuine yearning for the Lord—our carnal nature would never allow us to sustain that level of devotion. A hunger and thirst for God is actually a gift from the Lord Himself.

God predestined us to be conformed to the image of His Son, so He planted within us an innate desire to know and be known by the Savior. The problem is that many people, mistaking this yearning for cravings of other kinds, pursue things like affection, flattery, or fame. They go through life trying to create whatever kind of personal connection they can to fulfill desires they don’t even understand. All too often, the result is empty relationships, excessive work, and immoral behavior.

People rush from here to there doing their best to satisfy an inborn hunger created by Almighty God Himself—a hunger so powerful that it will be sated by nothing less than intimacy with God. David knew there was only one solution to the constant yearning in his heart. As St. Augustine said, “Our hearts are restless till they find their rest in Him.”

God has created within all of us the capacity to have a deep personal relationship with Him. But our sin nature does not give us the power to generate such intimacy. If you find yourself trying to satisfy your inborn hunger in your own strength, turn to the Lord, who is the author of your desires.

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David’s Devotion – Charles Stanley

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Psalm 42:1-8

Do you want to know who God is and what He cares about most in your life? You may have stored up lots of intellectual information about the Bible; that is important, but it’s not the main issue. You may serve the Lord, which is also necessary. And you may give generously to the church—another significant aspect of Christian life. But what matters most is the depth of your personal relationship with the Lord. Knowledge, service, and tithes can never replace intimacy with God.

The psalmist-king understood this truth, and it strengthened him in times of trouble. When his son Absalom tried to take over the throne, David fled to the desert, where he wrote these words: “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God” (Ps. 42:1-2). He knew that even in raging adversity, he could count on the Lord’s unfailing love being poured down on him (v. 8).

Throughout his psalms, we repeatedly see David’s hunger and thirst for the Lord. It was that passion—not his brute strength, savvy charisma, or remarkable ability to command an army—that made him a great man. And even though he made several significant mistakes, the Bible describes him as a man after God’s own heart (1 Sam. 13:14).

It’s not enough to read the Bible, volunteer your services, and give money to kingdom work. God wants to know you personally. While physical expressions of our devotion are important, they should be the result of a mature relationship with God. When we seek to know Him first, the rest will follow.