Your Daily Intimacy Journey with God
/As you begin each day on your journey, remember your situations have a greater purpose: intimacy with God, character development, healing of relationships, and their overflow into loving and serving others. See yourself taking one step at a time to develop your daily habits of intimacy within your life experiences. Daily habits are also the steps that you take in any given situation to becoming a stronger, healthier, and wiser you.
Daily Habits: Sit Place, Truth, and Dual Grace
Your daily habit of your “sit place” is always your first step, your first stop. Whatever your situation is, start by sharing your thoughts and feelings with God. Receive His care and comfort as you share and then listen to His voice of truth. If you are using a journal write your thoughts and your feelings first, pause, and then write what He says to you. Remember, His words to you will match the words and principles of the Word of God. Listening to His true words for your particular situation will move you into step two, your daily habit, Truth. Hold on to His true words as you enter into step three, your daily habit of “dual” Grace. Remember and receive daily His love by His sacrificial death for you, reminding yourself you are deeply loved by Him. No matter your circumstances, never let go of His Grace work for you. Also in step three, take His Grace and walk out what He speaks to your heart to do in your present circumstances. Do not exit; listen, trust, and obey His loving, truthful words to you. He is trustworthy and has your very best in mind. These three need to be present no matter what your experience. They will be your greatest strength and help, no matter the storm that may have entered into your world.
Daily Habits: Forgiveness, Healed Hurts, and Grief
As you navigate through steps four through six, embrace your daily habits of forgiveness, healed hurts, and grief. Be faithful to listen to the voice of God and check in by asking yourself: Is there someone I need to forgive, is there a hurt that needs healing, and or is there a loss I need to pause and grieve? Remember, you are working through each and every daily situation through each step to grow your relationship with God, bring healing to your heart, and strengthen your relationships with others.
Daily Habits: Influences of Darkness and Light
Step seven is your daily habit of recognizing with your spirit what spirits of darkness are harassing you. This is a valuable habit to develop to step out from under the influence of lying thoughts and to hold firmly to truth—the truth that will set you free. And then make a commitment to your daily habit, living as a child of Light. Choose to love, forgive, serve with humility, show compassion and mercy, set healthy boundaries, tell yourself the truth, be kind, submit to others as to The Lord, live a holy and pure life, and love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.
Daily Habits: Growth-Focus and Eight Companions
For steps eight and nine, as you develop your specific growth-focus, take your eight companions with you. They are your life companions and will be with you every step of the way, starting with your sit place with God.
Daily Habits: Spiritual Core and Serving Others with Humility
Step ten has two focuses. Make strong your spiritual core on a daily basis. In your identity, believe what God says is true of you. Believe only His voice, making it your own. Every day, dialogue with God about everything that concerns you. He loves and cares about you. Live your life with integrity. Be committed that your words and behaviors match the life of Christ. The second focus is your daily habit of serving others in humility. Practice in each of your situations to serve others, bending low to lift them up. As you serve them, may they enjoy feeling loved, accepted, encouraged, strengthened, helped, and respected by you. Lastly, remember Acts 20:24: However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace (NIV). Practice this habit within the vision given to you by God and in the ways you serve others daily (your mission).
Tension Points
Remember, as you move towards intimacy with God step by step, practicing your habits, you will experience tension. The tension is to go to your sit place and meet with God or to ignore the importance of it; or to tell yourself the truth or to hold on to faulty thinking; to forgive or not to forgive; to take the time to ask God to heal a hurt or dismiss your hurt; to deny caring for your grief waves; to neglect to listen to the Holy Spirit as to what spirits are harassing you and choosing to give in to your fleshly desires versus living as a child of Light. Consider the tension to develop a strong core by making time for it in your schedule or to fill up your day with many other seemingly more important activities. There will be the tension to be humble in serving others or to engage in pride, serving yourself. Do not exit when the tension increases. If you do, you will experience comfort, but it is a false comfort leading to compromise. All growth comes from tension. Inviting your companions with you will help you to push through your tension points. Work through the tension with your relationship with God, believing truthfully you are loved and He is your strength and help.
Companions
Don’t forget to take your companions on your journey. They will help you develop your daily habit in each step you take in your situation. Remember to invite The Life Companion, Jesus, to travel with you. He promises to be with you always. Take note this is not a linear journey, but one that has valleys, peaks, twists, and turns. As you journey, consider these words from Proverbs, Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths (Proverbs 3:5-6, NKJV).
Emotional Dimension
God desires that your life be built on truth, as He is the God of Truth. As you believe and live in God truth it will become your faith. With your faith in God and His truth to you, He also desires that you experience Him emotionally and relationally. Keep pressing in to hear His voice, guiding you along your life journey in all your decisions. May you experience His presence and His lovingkindness within your life. He wants you to feel helped, strengthen, strong, loved, forgiven, encouraged, and so many other emotions. Never give up, never quit in knowing God in truth and faith, and personally in His deep love for you. It is not about perfection, but progression. As you journey one step at a time through each life situation, inviting God into each one, you will grow in your faith and personally feel connected to Him as the God who loves you and you love Him.
Dr. Roselene Coblentz