Loving God…unforced intimacy

From time to time, we hear the phrase “forced intimacy” to describe efforts in connecting people which go beyond the comfort ability level of both parties.  It could happen in a small group, on a blind date, or any interaction in which one person feels compelled to share more about themselves than they wish. The very nature of an intimate relationship with another demands that mutual trust, respect and affection exist at a fairly equal level.

One of the core values that shape our worship arts ministry is that we intentionally focus on staying intimate with God. As worship leaders, it is important that we not just be familiar with his character and history, but that we genuinely pursue knowing and loving Him in a personal way. While I respect the character and contributions of historic figures such as Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King, for instance, I would never admit to loving them.  I didn’t really ever know them personally.  If we loosely define being intimate as being relationally close to another, it becomes apparent that intimacy with God has less to do with what we know to be true about Him and more about a living, loving relationship with Him…talking and listening to Him, expressing devotion to Him in words and actions.

Imagine, for a moment, the difference between sitting around your table on your birthday and having your closest friends and/or family members enthusiastically (sometimes humorously) singing happy birthday to you. You are aware that beyond their singing skills and familiar words are the numerous shared experiences which, over time, have yielded a closeness and intimacy with them that transcend this simple tradition.

Now imagine dining out at your favorite restaurant on your birthday and having total strangers surround you—your waiters and waitresses who have been conscripted by their boss to acknowledge your special day with some local version of Happy Birthday. First, if you’re like me, you are feeling awkward or, worse, dying inside of embarrassment, and secondly, you are aware that these well-wishers had little choice in the matter…it’s part of their job.

Sometimes we, as followers of Christ in general and worship leaders in particular, can fall into patterns of “doing our job”…going through the motions, even saying and singing the right things, but feeling empty inside or at least a bit disingenuous. I have even heard teammates confess that they feel hypocritical when they sing worship songs because their personal lives or walk with Christ have hit a rough patch or even flat-lined.

It is at times like these that we can do a quick inventory, asking a simple question: “If God seems far away from me right now, who moved?” It is even in the dark and desperate times that God reminds us “Draw near to Me, and I will draw near to you.” (James 4:8) For His part, He never stops calling, never stops wooing, never stops pursuing us. Just move toward Him.

Another example is found in Revelation 3:20:

“Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door,

I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.

Notice the freedom in that?  His is an invited relationship, never a forced or coerced one. There is also an immediacy to God’s invitation to stay close to Him when He warns:

“Seek the Lord while He may be found, call on Him while He is near.” (Isaiah 55:6)

Yes, He promises to never leave us or forsake us, but there is something about delaying or postponing getting close to God for a more convenient season that becomes less likely the more time passes, and we grow comfortable with the distance.

My encouragement to each of you is to have at least one other person in your life who routinely asks you how you are doing in this area. Close, personal brothers and sisters in the faith can help us fan the flames of our passion for God before we find ourselves running on spiritual fumes. Fumes are more like the remnants or even memories of former days when we really walked hand in hand with our God. Let’s make a covenant in the worship ministry to lovingly encourage and challenge each other to keep the main thing the main thing. As a worship leader, it is the sweetest gift we can give to the Body…and to the Lover of our souls.  Nothing forced about it.

tad