The transforming power of abiding in God’s love

When we regularly read God’s Word, His love becomes more real to us. We start to recognise the endlessly loving nature of God. The more we read the Bible, the more we ‘know’ Him. The more we meditate on His words, the more we live in an abiding awareness of His love, all day, every day. When we worship in songs and melodies, especially in our own private place of connection with God, we tap into a nearness to God that becomes tangible, where we sense His presence up close and personal. When we earnestly pray and talk to God, we deepen our relationship with Him and find ourselves discovering what God’s personality is like; His character, His heart towards us. We become more familiar with His unique way of interacting with us on a personal individual level.

When we confide in Him we experience His tangible comfort. When we take the time to worship Him and listen to His small, still, voice we become acquainted with the rhythm of His heart. Psalm 25:14 (MSG) tells us that “God-friendship is for God-worshippers; they are the ones He confides in.” When we spend time relationally connecting with God we begin to enjoy authentic friendship with Him, where He trusts us with His own desires. We laugh together. We cry together. We share secrets. This is what yada is: to know and be fully known in return. It is so crazy to think that each one of us is intimately known by God Almighty; that His love for us isn’t a blanket, one size fits all generic kind of love, but a deeply personal love that God has for every single individual that ever walked the earth.

Known by God

It is a love that is so deeply acquainted with who we personally are, with the way that we are uniquely wired, with our deepest longings, our passions, our pursuits and pains. When we accept in our hearts that Jesus died on the cross with us; meaning ‘me’ singular, as an individual, in mind; that He purposefully saved my life because He loves me, for who I am, whilst I was still a sinner (Romans 5:8); that He chose me for His love, this is when we begin to step into true freedom. We realise that despite all our wrongs, past, present and future, God wholeheartedly chooses us. Even when I am immersed in my junk He still chooses me. Even when I deny Him, He still chooses me. Even when I do not choose Him, He chooses me.

Each one of us is intimately known by God Almighty

This truth compels us to feel known, valued, accepted and loved. His loving grace and undeserved mercy towards us, literally woos us into the sweet surrender of this irresistible, perfect love of God. Unfortunately, there are a million things that may stop us from believing that God truly loves us. This is the key you see — unless we are able to believe that God loves us, we will find it very difficult to experience yada intimacy, because there are walls of unbelief, fear, insecurity, pain and other emotions in our soul, which stand in the way of receiving His perfect love. Yet as we spend time with God, allowing the truth of His Word to grow in our hearts, these walls of resistance begin to break down and His love for us begins to become very real to us.

We find ourselves slowly believing the truth that God truly does love us so much that He gave His Only Son for us so that we could have eternal life. We begin to realise that the whole reason God chose us to live eternally, was so that we could know Him and be known by Him. Remember what Ephesians tells us eternal life is? It is knowing God. It is being fully known by Him. It is yada intimacy. This is our destiny: where the true beauty of an eternity with God lies. This, beloved ones, is where the magic happens.

Fearless love

This confidence in God’s love compels us to be fearless. Because we finally understand that if the God of the universe, the Creator of heaven and earth, the author of love and the only perfect being to ever exist, loves us with a love everlasting, then whom or what shall we fear? As we increasingly hang out in God’s presence and cultivate a lifestyle of intimacy with God, we are able to daily approach God without any shame, without resistance or condemnation. Even when we have sinned or have been involved in something that compromises our confidence, we get to still come boldly into God’s presence and receive His embrace and love for us.

Despite all our wrongs, past, present and future, God wholeheartedly chooses us

Because He never ever turns us away, our insecurities slowly begin to diminish. We stop hiding. We become transparent with our thoughts, anxieties and motives. We become vulnerable before God. We allow Him to love us without reserve and we love Him wholeheartedly in return. In response to God’s complete transparency before us, we dare to be completely naked, before Him. It is here in this place of nakedness before God, that true freedom explodes. You see when we learn to be naked in front of God, we fear man far less. When we recognise that we are fully accepted before God with all our flaws and shortcomings then we find confidence to reveal our insecurities and hang-ups to others. We gain the confidence to be ourselves, without fear of rejection. We realise that if God does not reject us, then those that also walk in the love of God will not reject us either. This, my friends is the kind of confidence we need, to cultivate liberating, sincere intimate relationships with others whether its family, friendships or marital love.

This article is based on an extract from Bobbi’s book Sacred Sexuality.

Bobbi Kumari is an author, speaker, teacher, podcaster and founder of fashion and lifestyle brand Living in Light, which runs Sacred Sexuality. For more information visit: livinginlight.co.uk