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CREATING A LIFESTYLE OF INTIMACY WITH GOD
Kris Vallotton
October 8, 2021
GOD IS STEWARDING INTIMACY
There is more of God available than most people have experienced. Maybe you have even found yourself feeling disconnected and desperate to be plugged back into His presence. So often Christians live with finite understanding and fixed experience of the nearness of the Father. But, the truth is He sent His son in order to live in perfect relationship with us. He is not a distant God sitting on a Heavenly throne with pillars and palaces in the way; He is closer than your very breath waiting and pursuing you relentlessly.
This past week I had the privilege of sitting down for a conversation with Leslie Crandall, a Senior Leader at Bethel and the BSSM 1st year Senior Overseer. Leslie’s heart beats for intimacy with God and her passion to see others experience His presence spills out in every room she walks into. Her life is an anthem that beats to the nearness of God’s presence.
Leslie shared a brief message on developing intimacy with God that I wanted to share with you this week:
I have known the Lord from the young age of five. I grew up in a conservative Christian environment that valued the knowledge of God; I quickly adopted a daily devotional time with the Lord from the age of 13. Even with a beautiful devotion to the Lord I found myself wrapped in the belief that I had to show God how hungry I was in order for Him to show up. I would find myself in “dry” seasons unable to hear the voice of God and searching for His closeness. It wasn't until I was in high school that I had revelation of the presence of God — until I realized I did not have to prove my hunger for Him in order to experience His love. John 15 says: “I am the vine and My Father is the vinedresser….I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” We are always connected; even when we feel disconnected there is not actually disconnection. Our Father is the Gardener, He is in constant pursuit and the one stewarding intimacy with us.
In a nutshell:
- Leslie Crandall has a passion for the love of Jesus.
- Her life was impacted by the Toronto revival as a young high school girl.
- She grew up in a conservative Christian environment. But as her parents started to step into things of the Holy Spirit. She began to have revelation of the presence of God.
- Leslie had this belief when she was young that she had to show God how hungry she was then He would show up.
- The mindset she had to prove her hunger led to an undoing of dysfunctional church culture that had planted this belief system.
- John 15 shows us that I am always connected to God; there is no disconnection.
- The Father is the gardener, He is the one that is stewarding intimacy. If I learn to respond and yield.
- In a time of crisis, the depth of His love is revealed..
- You don’t have to go through a crisis to experience the nearness of the Father.
- There is the theology of intimacy with God, but there is the practicality of developing intimacy with God.
- The Bible is living and active; it has the ability to bring transformation in our lives.
- All of life is about walking in intimacy with our Father
- Eternity and Heaven was created to spend forever with humankind.
- The knowledge of the glory of the Lord will cover the earth. Habakkuk 2:14
- You will find Him everywhere.
- Stewarding the intimacy and overflow of His love is the most important aspect of our life.
EXPERIENCING THE NEARNESS OF GOD
I encourage you to ask yourself if everything was stripped away what would be left? Where would intimacy and relationship with God be placed in your life? Everything we do in the Christian life is for the glory and the gift of knowing Jesus. I pray that you experience the nearness of God not just in times of distress, but that His nearness would be your daily experience of Him.
How has intimacy with the Lord impacted your life and changed your relationship and understanding of God? I would love to hear in the comments below.
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