Relational Impact

‘Many Samaritans from the village believed in Jesus because the woman had said, “He told me everything I ever did!”’ John 4:39.

Your vertical relationship with The One influences your horizontal relationships with people. This means your horizontal relationship with people is a reflection of your vertical relationship with The One. If you see someone that is grumpy, easily angered, and always picking a fight, guess what? -that person’s issue is not with you but rather it is with The One. Just tell him or her to go and see The One. When people are spitting words at you and always trying to demean you, just know that their problem isn’t with you -rather they have a problem with The One.

In human relationships particularly, we try to replace intimacy with intensity. Where intimacy is lacking, we try to substitute it with intensity. When intimacy is in place, intensity follows. But many times because intimacy is lacking, intensity is used as a cover up. Take sexual intimacy for instance, married couples that lack sexual intimacy tend to substitute it with sexual intensity. So what now exists between such couples is a lot of intensity but no intimacy. Similarly, we do the same thing in our relationship with Jesus. When intimacy with Jesus is lacking, we replace it with a lot of intensity. For example, God is saying to you, “You need to forgive that person even though you have made up your mind never to forgive him or her”. Then while you are praying and worshipping Jesus, the Holy Spirit reminds you about the person you need to forgive. Guess what a lot of people do instead of sorting out their intimacy with Jesus? They raise their voices and try to drown out the voice of the Holy Spirit. The Lord is showing you something you need to deal with so that your intimacy with Him can go to the next level. But you don’t want to because you think you are not prepared for it or you think you cannot pay the price for it. So for a lot of people, as soon as they hear the voice of the Holy Spirit pointing them in that direction, they pray louder. It is not everybody that is praying loudly that is enjoying intimacy with God. Some of them may be running away from a direction God is leading them. In fact, sometimes the louder they are, the bigger the issue. Again, this does not apply to everyone you see praying loudly. So in the absence of genuine intimacy, which is into-me-see as it’s commonly said, we settle for intensity rather than sorting out intimacy.

Thought: Your obedience to God’s voice and leading impacts your intimacy with Him.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, please quicken my feet to obey Your leading and take me deeper with You Lord, in Jesus Name.