Truett McConnell Assignment
“A major source of emotional pain is lack of intimacy with God. Alienation from the love of God is a basic human problem. Reconciliation to God along with restoration of his love and acceptance is the only complete answer. People develop a true sense of identity when they realize that God loves them unconditionally. People who find their identity in a loving relationship with God do not have to depend on others to establish their self-identity.”
Intimacy is defined as a close familiarity or friendship. “The life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us’ that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ” says 1 John: 1-2. Fellowship with our Heavenly Father is the most important thing in this life. To be loved by Him is our highest priority: everything else we do in this life is overflow of His love.
One tangible way to test your intimacy with the Father, is hearing God’s voice. My leader with World Race Gap Year told me an intriguing analogy to describe hearing the voice of God. She said, “Pretend you have a new phone with no contacts. Someone calls you and you don’t have the number saved. You answer the phone, and the person says hello. You kind of recognize the voice. You ask who is speaking, and it is your friend from school. After the conversation, you do not save the contact. The next day, the same number calls again. When the person says hello you recognize it more. This same pattern repeats, and each time, you know the voice better.” This is the same with the voice of the Lord. Over time and hearing it more and more, you learn to realize when He’s speaking. Speaking to someone everyday and knowing more about them breeds intimacy; it is the exact same with our heavenly Father.
One way I talk to the Lord, to become more intimate, is to ask questions. I sit by myself and play worship music quietly. I will clear my my mind and solely focus on the presence of the Lord. I do not empty my mind, however, because in Scripture it says we should constantly be filling our minds, asking questions, and interrogating reality (as my leader Taylor says.) Then I’ll process things that He’s taught me that week through asking questions. Everything I hear, I check that it fits scripture and the Lord’s character. It is so amazing to understand more of what the Lord holds for us as humans.
When you hear God’s voice, you know what He says about you and your character. For me hearing God’s voice means, knowing that I am a daughter of the Most High King and that I have full authority under Him. Christians that are intimate with the Lord understand the supernatural power we possess through the Holy Spirit. We can do anything mentioned in the Bible and more, if it is God’s will. Truly knowing the Lord means finding your identity, your identity in Him. There is no longer a need to “find myself” in the world because He created me and knows exactly who I’m meant to be. That is so encouraging because it takes all the pressure off. There is no need to rely on humans, who will let you down. God will never let us down because He is faithful.
