No other religion in the world offers such intimacy with an all-powerful God as does Christianity. C.S. Lewis once said that the one thing that sets Christianity apart from all other world religions is “grace”—God’s grace. It’s grace that offers us the opportunity of intimacy with God. God wants us to know him and as we hunger for him get to know him better. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Matthew 5:6).
David wrote, “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God” so my soul pants for you, O God” (Ps. 42:1). We have a longing for Him. We want to experience something of what Job described: “My ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:5-6). We long to experience what great men and women have experienced. One problem for many of us is that we try to imitate others’ experiences while diminishing our own experience with God.
Although this may be good, it can discourage us because it is hard to emulate another person’s experience. Another person shares their journey, with all the wonderful, glowing reports of intimacy with God. We try to duplicate the experience but are unable to, and we are disheartened. Intimacy with God is too personal to be reproduced. We do ourselves a disservice by trying to imitate others.
We are told in scripture to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength” (Deuteronomy 6:5). We aim to love and worship God from our own hearts and experiences. We can learn from men like David and Job, but we must remember that God loves each of us uniquely. The more we know about God and the more he is revealed to us through his Word and the Holy Spirit, the more we will want to worship him. Our experience is far too personal to be compared to anyone else.
The closer we get to God, the more aware we are of our spiritual needs. Isaiah had a vision of God’s greatness. He saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. There were mighty angels with six wings. They called to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” The experience led Isaiah to recognize his spiritual need and to cry out to God. In the vision, God sent an angel with a live coal, touched his lips, and atoned for his sin Isaiah 6:1-8).
True intimacy with God makes us aware of our spiritual needs and causes us to worship and glorify God. Often, people do the opposite; they boast of their intimacy and elevate themselves. God does not share his glory with anyone (Isaiah 42:8).
