Our Longing for Intimacy
Intimacy
The mutual giving and receiving of all that we are.
The Dilemma
We have a deep longing for intimacy, yet we also have a deep fear of the pain inherent with intimacy.
How to deal with the dilemma.
• We can be alive and thirsty.
• We can be dead.
• We can be addicted.
Hope
• Isaiah 61:1-3, “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness.”
Strategy
Hosea 14:1-3, “Return to the Lord your God. Your sins have been your downfall! Take words with you and return to the Lord. Say to him, ‘Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously, that we may offer the fruit of our lips. Assyria cannot save us; we will not mount war-horses. We will never again say ‘Our gods’ to what our own hands have made…’”
Strategy
1. Return to the Lord.
*Face yourself without denial.
*Face your woundedness.
*Trust God to satisfy your needs.
2. Examine motives of repentance.
3. Acknowledge that your strategies are worthless.
4. Ask for help to pursue healthy relationships.
5. Remember that change is a process.
