Intimacy

PSALM 65
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. A Song.

PRAISE is awaiting You, O God, in Zion;

And to You the vow shall be performed.
Psa 65:2 O You who hear prayer,
To You all flesh will come.
Psa 65:3 Iniquities prevail against me;
As for our transgressions,
You will provide atonement for them.

Psa 65:4 Blessed is the man You choose,
And cause to approach You,
That he may dwell in Your courts.
We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house,
Of Your holy temple.

Psa 65:5 By awesome deeds in righteousness You will answer us,
O God of our salvation,
You who are the confidence of all the ends of the earth,
And of the far-off seas;
Psa 65:6 Who established the mountains by His strength,
Being clothed with power;
Psa 65:7 You who still the noise of the seas,
The noise of their waves,
And the tumult of the peoples.
Psa 65:8 They also who dwell in the farthest parts are afraid of Your signs;
You make the outgoings of the morning and evening rejoice.

Psa 65:9 You visit the earth and water it,
You greatly enrich it;
The river of God is full of water;
You provide their grain,
For so You have prepared it.
Psa 65:10 You water its ridges abundantly,
You settle its furrows;
You make it soft with showers,
You bless its growth.

Psa 65:11 You crown the year with Your goodness,
And Your paths drip with abundance.
Psa 65:12 They drop on the pastures of the wilderness,
And the little hills rejoice on every side.
Psa 65:13 The pastures are clothed with flocks;
The valleys also are covered with grain;
They shout for joy, they also sing.

So what happens when we give up running? When we let our hearts and minds be still?

It's very simple we begin to praise. We begin to love. We set ourselves apart and draw close to the one who seeks us out.

The Psalmist says "Praise is awaiting You." When your heart is free you can't help but let it praise. When you know what you have, what has been done, and what will be you can't help it!

I love how he says, "iniquities prevailed against me; as for our trangressions, you will provide an atonement." We know, we know when their is a separation. No one needs to tell us when we grow cold, when we doubt, when depression sneaks up on us. But here he tells us, he provides a way back to Himself. Even though everything comes crashing in on us, he delivers. He answers prayer so that all men will come to him. The point is God provided a way to have intimacy. He makes a way to keep us company, to be in relationship with us.

When you trust someone, when you love someone, you are true to them. You will do anything to keep that trust. You will stop hanging out with other friends, you will put the rest of your life on hold just to keep that intimacy. Well here is the Lord, he made a way, he does everything he can to have intimacy with us. He sacrificed himself to bring us to him. He laid down his all just so we would come to Him,

Do you see now why David can say blessed is the man you choose and cause to appraoch you, that he may dwell in Your courts? WE have to realize this, the Lord has called each and every one of us to abide with him. He's calling us out of our lonely places, out of our confusion and unto himself.

But He also knows how we are prone to doubt, so in this Psalm he lays out his case for us. He shows us the evidence. But more importantly he shows us the benefit of living intimately with him. You can read this whole psalm and one thing stands out, the lord nourishes. He provides for those he loves and those that draw near to him. All they have to do is call to him!

So intimacy, intimacy is not being holy, it is not living in cave so you don't sin or have the opportunity to. Intimacy is drawing near to the Lord, calling on him and he causes you to appraoch him, dwelling in his courts rather than trying to pitch your own tents.

I'm always reminded by one phrase in Psalm 27 and it really has become etched on my heart "Seek my face." The Lord never asks us to climb the mountains, or make ourselves holy, he has provided the way. But He is continually crying out draw near. And when we draw near, we know exactly what will happen, just read psalm 65 and see.