Enjoying Intimacy with God: A Topical Devotional

By Judy S. Douglas

God wants intimate one-to-One time with each of us. He wants to be our closest Friend. Intimacy is tied to sharing secrets and all that concerns us which includes our hopes, our dreams, as well as our failures and seemingly unsolvable problems. Those who seek Him are rewarded with new insights, refreshment, peace, and new energy. Developing intimacy with God grows as a result of spending personal time with Him. Our intimacy grows over the years as we learn about God, His values and viewpoints. Intimacy also involves learning to enjoy the peace and closeness with God as well as strengthening in the inner and outer life with God.

• Language: English
• Publisher: LifeRich Publishing
• Release date: Mar 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9781489739124

Judy S. Douglas

Judy S. Douglas is a retired Christian psychologist who brings a unique blend of experiences dealing with emotional trauma throughout the life cycle. Her background includes a bachelor's degree in Nursing; a master degree in Public Health with an emphasis in health administration; a master's degree in Marriage and Family Therapy, and Ph.D. in psychology with experience in both private practice and forensic settings. Douglas lives in a retirement community in Banning, California.

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ISBN: 978-1-4897-3914-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4897-3913-1 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4897-3912-4 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021922234

LifeRich Publishing rev. date: 02/25/2022

Scripture quotations marked AMP are from The Amplified Bible, Old

Testament copyright © 1965, 1987 by the Zondervan Corporation. The

Amplified Bible, New Testament copyright © 1954, 1958, 1987 by The

Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible,

English Standard Version® (ESV®). Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a

division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.

Scripture quotations marked MSG are taken from THE MESSAGE.

Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 by Eugene

H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. Website.

Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American

Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973,

1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New

International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International

Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. [Biblica]

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version.

Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living

Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale

House Publishers, Inc. Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. Website

NRSV

The New Testament in Modern English by J.B Phillips copyright

© 1960, 1972 J. B. Phillips. Administered by The Archbishops’

Council of the Church of England. Used by Permission

The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House

Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers

Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Contents

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Dedication

Bible Abbreviations

Note to Reader

Introduction

Abandonment Issues

Abiding

Able

Above It All

Act and Action

Addiction to Other Gods

Address

Adore God

All Day

All Things Work for Good

Aloneness

Always

Among the Chaos of Life

Angels

Answers

Anxiety

Applause

Ashes

Ask

Assertiveness with God

The Banquet Table Awaits You

Basking in Him

Be Here; Focus

Beauty

Beauty for Ashes

Before and After

Betrayal

Bible Reading That Works for Me

Blessed and Blessings

Blood

The Boat and the Dock

Boldness

Brokenness

Bucket of Crosses and Walking Light

The Butterfly

Call Me

Cares

Carry, Carries and Carrying

Cast and Casting

Center

Chaos

Childlike Trust

Christmas

Christmas and Gift Giving

Christmas Imagery of God Visiting Our Home

The Christmas Stocking

The Christmas Tree

Christmas Week Thoughts

Christmas: The Wonders of His Love

Circles

Cling

Clothes

Clouds

Coincidences

Comfort

Common Cloth

Community

Complete and Completely

Connectedness

Content and Contentment

Courtesy, Kindness, and Considerateness

The Cup

The Cycle of Life

The Daily Grind of Life

The Dark Clouds of Life

Death and Dying

The Decades of Our Lives

Deeper

Delight

Dependable God

Dependency

Depleted

Depression

Desperate

Discouragement

Divorce

The Door

The Drinking Glass

Driving Miss Daisy

Eating and Dining with God

Embrace

Endless Lessons in His Word

Enjoy God

Equality

Exercise

Exhaustion

Exquisite

Faithful

Fear and Anxiety

Finding God Poem

For Beginners in the Word

Forgiveness

Forgotten

Fountains

Free

Freedom

The Freeway of Life

Fresh, Freshness and Refreshing

Friendship with God

Garbage Bags and the Cross

Gardening Thoughts

Generous and Generosity

The Gentleness of God

Gifts

Glory

God Is in the "Re" Business

God Is My Shelter

God Sightings

God the Hovercraft

God’s Corrections

God’s Love

God’s Nudges

God’s Perspective

God’s Presence

God’s School

Going Deeper with God

A Gold Mine Rejected

Good Friday Thoughts

Good People

Grace

Greed

Grief, Loss, and Emotional Suffering

Grudges

Guard the Inner Life

Guide

Guilt and Shame

Hallelujah

Hand in Glove

The Hands and Arms of Jesus

Harbor

Harmony

Hearing God’s Voice in Meditation Time

Heaven

Help!

He’s Been Faithful

Hiding

The Hills and Valleys of Life

His Will versus My Will

Hold Me

The Holy Spirit

Home and Houses

Hope

The Houseperson’s Creed

Humbleness versus Pride

Idols

Infusion and Transfusion

Inheritance and Portfolios

In His Presence

The Inner and Outer Life

Insight

Intimacy with God

The Invitation

Jesus Is Victor

Joy

Kindness

Knowing God

The Lamp

Leads

Leave It

Life Crises, a Great Loss or Tragedy

Lift

Light

Listen and Listening

Looking Ahead

Love

Loving Difficult People

Low Self-Worth or Low Self-Esteem

Marriage, What I’ve Learned

Marriage, Keeping It in Good Repair

Meditation Poems

Meditate and Meditation

Mercy

Message to Teenagers and Young Adults

Ministry

More

Mornings with God

A Mother’s Day Message

My Life, a Book

My Take on Psalm 23

My Way or His Way

My Witness

Nature’s Imagery

Needless Dying

Needy and Neediness

New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day Thoughts

No Children

No Fishing Sign

No Guarantees

No Pit So Deep

Nourishment

Obedience and Obeying

The Ocean of God’s Love

Ocean Symbolism

Old Age

Oppression and Persecution

Outsiders

Paths and Roads

Patience

Peace

Pens

Personal God

The Pilgrim Way

Pondering God

The Poor

Pour, Poured and Pouring

Praise

Prayer

Pride

Promises

Protection

The Purging Process

Purify and Purity

Put Me Together Again

Quiet, Quiet Time, and Quietness

Rain

Reaching

Ready and Readiness

Reassure

Rebuild

Reconciliation

Refreshing

Relax

Renew Me

The Resurrection Life

Rest

Restore and Restoration

Retirement

Revive

Robust

Rocks and Stones

Sacrifice

Safe

Saturation

Savor

Seekers and Finders

Self

Serve, Service, and Serving

Setbacks in Our Spiritual Journey

Shaping

Sheep and Shepherds

Shepherds in the Fields

Sighs, Groans, and Whimpers

Silence

Simple and Simplicity

Skies

Springs

Stay

Sticking Power

Stories

Strength

Stretch

Stuff, as in Too Much Stuff

Suffering

Sunrise and Sunsets

Surrender

Take and Taking

Talkers

The Tapestry of Life

Tears

Television, Computers, and Cell Phones

Tell and Telling

Terminal Illness

Testing

The Thankfulness Glass

Thank You, God

Themes in Our Lives

Tickets

The Ties That Bind Me to Earth

Time

Transformation

Treasure

Troubles, Tough Times and Trials

Trust

Tuned In

Unanswered Prayers

The Universe

Victims

Victory

Waiting

Warmth

Washing

Water

Wealth

Welcome

What Matters

Whispers

Wholeness

Wilderness and Desert Experiences

Wind

Wisdom

Witness

Wonder

Words

Work

Worry

Worship

Yardsticks

You Know My Name

Postscript

References Cited

About the Author

Dedication

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This book is dedicated to my wonderful God. He has been and is my Teacher and Mentor. He has gently and tenderly led me through the decades of my life. His love for each of us never ends. He is the one who gave me the ideas, thoughts, and insights for this book. I simply couldn’t have done this project without Him.

Every time I worked at my computer, I began each session with a prayer of humbleness and surrender, asking The Helper (also known as The Holy Spirit) for His strength, wisdom, guidance, and insight as I worked. I also prayed for protection and safety from harassment from the evil one. Ever faithful, He did the job.

Next, I dedicate this book to Karen, my soul mate and wife. She spent many a lonely evening while I worked away on my computer in my study. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your sacrifices and support.

And last, this book is dedicated to my beloved niece, Alison Schultz, and to my much-loved nephew, Brett Schultz. This book is also dedicated to my wonderful and kind nephew, Thomas Roberts who is dearly loved. My hope is that I have passed on what I have learned about God, but more importantly, that each of them will internalize the principles found in this book.

Bible Abbreviations

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AMP: The Amplified Study Bible

MSG: The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language

NIV: New International Version

NKJV: New King James Version Study Bible

NLT: New Living Translation

NRSV: The New Revised Standard Version

TLB: The Living Bible

Note to Reader

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The various Bible translations differ in whether or not to capitalize prepositions that refer to God or qualities of God. Some of these prepositions include you, his, him, presence, me, and my. This is why there is a difference in capitalization in the Bible quotations.

Introduction

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Don’t miss out on the inner life with God. We live so much above ground (that is reality outside ourselves) entrenched in and preoccupied with above-surface living. God invites us to a rich and intimate relationship with Him in the inner recesses of our souls.

This book came about as a result of repetitive nudges from God to write it. He just told me to keep writing. I am a woman cut from common cloth. My only hope is that this book will bring you closer to God and to a greater understanding of His ways. Spending time with Him and His Word brings us into a personal and intimate relationship with God.

The purpose of this book is to help fellow travelers on the road of life to really find and deeply value a relationship with God who has gotten a bad rap. Intellectuals reject Him with their supposed logic and self sufficiency.

Though raised in a religious home and school environments, I really didn’t know God very much through the decades of my life. I have found Him more deeply in my retirement years when time is less of an enemy. I simply want to share Him, for aren’t we put on earth to help one another in very practical ways?

I hope this book helps you on your spiritual journey. If any words in this book touch you where you live, if you have an inner soul hunger that nothing else can fill, this book is for you. I simply and completely give any glory to God. I cannot preach, for I am far too timid, but God nudged me to write. If it were left up to me, I’d rather be planting flowers in my garden.

My message may not be received by many. I am to tell of God’s personal, wondrous love available to each of us, a soul friendship like no other. I’m amazed how Christian people do their Christian work but have no time for a one-on-One relationship with Him. Spend quiet time alone with Him. Read His Word. Take notes on the good stuff.

This book can be used as a daily devotional or as a topical reference book. For example, if you wonder what the Bible has to say about a specific topic, you can look up the chapter in the table of contents.

And last, this book is meant to be a starting point in discovering exquisite and relevant findings that you can apply to your situation.

Abandonment Issues

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There are some of us who have abandonment issues. Some examples are a parent who was never available emotionally for the child; a parent who was largely not there physically; a child who never had parents; and a spouse who has left the relationship either emotionally or physically.

We can’t forget Jesus was abandoned by His disciples when the test came to stand by or abandon Him; they chose the latter. Even Jesus on the cross felt abandoned by His Father. We can also have times when we feel abandoned by God.

For some of us, it takes years and many psychotherapy sessions to get rid of the lead we feel in our gut relating to abandonment issues. Emotional healing can come for those with abandonment issues. Ask God to help you heal. Ask Him to guide you to resources and people who can help you heal.

The good news is that God never abandons each of us. A person may feel abandoned by God at times and truly feel that no one understands, not even God, what the person has experienced. But this is a good time to claim His promises that He cares deeply for each of His children and claim His promises that He never abandons us and trust Him during times of feeling alone and abandoned.

Here are some Biblical texts that mention the issue of abandonment:

I will not fail you or abandon you. (Joshua 1:5 AMP)

You have been my help; do not abandon me nor leave me, O God of my salvation! Although my father and my mother have abandoned me, yet the Lord will take me up [adopt me as His child]. (Psalm 27: 9-10 AMP)

Once I was young, and now I am old. Yet I have never seen the godly abandoned or their children begging for bread. (Psalm 37:25 NLT)

For the Lord delights in justice and does not abandon His saints (faithful ones); they are preserved forever. (Psalm 37:28 AMP)

Because he set his love on Me, therefore I will save him … [he confidently trusts and relies on Me, knowing I will never abandon him, no, never]. (Psalm 91:14 AMP)

Abiding

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How do we abide in Him? By having one-on-One time with Him, preferably alone in the quietness of a room where we seek to get to know God via reading His Word and praying about all the issues that concern us. We also learn to abide in Him during times of waiting and in the stillness of silence. But there are other ways to abide in Him —just by watching a sunset or contemplating a beautiful scene; the waves crashing on the rocks or sand; taking a long look at the coastline; or walking in the woods.

God’s Word has some thoughts on abiding:

Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear much fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. (John 15:4 NKJV)

As we keep His commands, we live deeply and surely in him, and he lives deeply in us. And this is how we experience his deep and abiding presence in us: by the Spirit He gave us. (1 John 3: 21-24 MSG)

By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit …. God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. (1 John 4:13, 16 NRSV)

Able

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He is able to save completely all who come to God through him. (Hebrews 7:25 TLB)

He does the job perfectly and completely. But there are those who quite frankly don’t think they need or want to be saved. They can’t grasp the simplicity of God and His teachings. God is able when I am not able. God is able to do for us far beyond our expectations of Him. Out of able comes ability. He will grow ability within us.

Wonderful! Fabulous! God is able!

Here are a few texts that talk about being able:

(Daniel speaking to Nebuchadnezzar): If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. (Daniel 3:17 NIV)

For I know the one in whom I trust, and am sure that he is able to safely guard all that I have given him until the day of his return. (2 Timothy 1:12 TLB)

Nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Roman 8:39 NLT)

Above It All

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Above it all,

Above the busyness of life that distracts us,

Above it all,

You are God.

Above it all, above all else,

Above work, above problems,

Above sickness, above death,

You are God, and You count us precious.

Above family, above brokenness,

Above sorrow, loss, and pain,

Above our humanness,

You are God.

Above our strengths,

Above our frailties,

Above it all,

You are God.

Act and Action

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It is not enough to just listen to His Word or the preacher. God also calls us to action, to act. Being a nascent computer user, I can watch someone else a thousand times do a certain sequence of steps to get a desired result, but if I don’t take action and do it myself, the learning will not have been applied. God wants us to apply in our own lives what we have learned from Him and His Word.

Here are a few biblical texts about act and action:

For the Lord is a God who knows what you have done; he will judge your actions. (1 Samuel 2:3 NLT)

(Jehoshaphat speaking): ‘You are to act always in the fear of God, with honest hearts.’ (2 Chronicles 19:9 TLB)

Pure and unblemished religion [as it is expressed in outward acts] in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit and look after the fatherless and the widows in their distress, and to keep oneself uncontaminated by the [secular] world. (James 1:27 AMP)

Addiction to Other Gods

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Simply put, an addiction is any act or preoccupation that compulsively controls a person’s behavior or obsessively controls his thoughts. There are so many types of addiction that only a few are listed: addiction to alcohol or cigarettes; to illegal or legal drugs; to pleasure; to violence; to power; to lust; to corruption; to thrills; to gambling; to cell phones and other electronic devices; to denial and illusion; to perversion of every sort; to on-line shopping; to vile things; to travel; to man-made idols; to knowledge; and even to religion. In short, anything or activity can become an addiction when carried out to the extreme.

A text in Jeremiah got me thinking about what my addictions are to alien gods. Unwittingly, I am discovering that I am addicted to television each evening as I spend as much as five hours in front of it. I tune in and watch my favorite programs, and all the while, my mind is unavailable to God. When TV occupies our minds, the sensitivity to God decreases and the couch potato hours slowly increase. It is a personal thing, like taking a feeding bottle away from a hungry baby. Expect resistance to change. It’s been said that it takes thirty days to break a habit, or make changes in our habits. So don’t give up reducing or eliminating the amount of time that you watch television.

I have also surrendered my other gods of gardening, landscape design, antiquing, and travel. Over time, God is shrinking my appetite for these interests. These interests of themselves are not wrong as long as we find a balance in living where no one interest rules us.

If you’re ready to surrender your idols or addictions, God will work with you in a variety of ways, if you but ask for His help.

Here are some texts about addiction:

You’ve got more gods, Judah, than you know what to do with. (Jeremiah 2:28 MSG)

God … never tempts anyone else. Temptation comes from our own desires which entice us and drag us away. These give birth to sinful actions. (James 1:13-15 NLT)

For a man is a slave to whatever controls him. (2 Peter 2:19 TLB)

I will not be mastered by anything. (1 Corinthians 6:12 NIV)

Address

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The eternal God is the address I visit. He greets me with His ever-open arms that welcome me. He hugs me, comforts me. He puts His arm around my shoulder and says, Come on in. Let’s talk it over.

Adore God

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During the Christmas season, we often sing, O Come All Ye Faithful (Written by John Francis Wade in 1743). But have you ever let yourself stop and consider the phrase in the song, O come let us adore Him? Do we really know how to adore God, how to spend time with Him in loving adoration? Think of other scenarios where you use the word, adore. For example, you might say, I adore my granddaughter, I adore chocolate cake, or I adore my dog. Can each of us honestly say that we adore God?

How do we adore God? For me, I can honestly say that my adoration of God has come with an ever-deepening realization of what God has done in my life — His transformational work and the healings I have experienced.

Here are a few texts that mention the words adore, adoring, or adoration.

Worship God in adoring embrace. Celebrate in trembling awe. Kiss Messiah! (Psalm 2:10-12 MSG)

I worship in adoration — what a creation! (Psalm 139:13–16 MSG)

All Day

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I’m learning what it means to celebrate God all day. Do I celebrate Him by enjoying His peace throughout the day? Do I talk less and listen more? I like to celebrate God by enjoying bits of beauty in the natural world that I discover as I go about my day. I am also taking minute vacations throughout the day during which I praise and thank Him for specific blessings or I just enjoy the peace and quiet of being with Him in silence.

Here are several texts about celebrating and praising God all day:

Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean revel in him! (Philippians 4:4 MSG)

O God, we give glory to you all day long and constantly praise your name. (Psalm 44:8 NLT)

They rejoice in your name all day long; they exult in your righteousness. (Psalm 89:16 NIV)

All Things Work for Good

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All things? Really? The death of an innocent child, a life wrecked by illicit drug use, the unfairness of cancer — one could name a seemingly endless list of tragedies Surely not all thing work together for good. But His Word says so. That good will come out of tragedy is not only a promise; it applies to those who love God. If you are not a follower of Jesus Christ, the promise is not for you. Often, we don’t see the good that comes out of life’s tragedies until much time has passed. He wants us to rise above our circumstances and trust Him through the dark times when we don’t understand.

The good that can come out of tragedies is that it can positively change survivors in that we become more empathic with those who have suffered loss and it mentally opens us up to new insights. We are also humbled and become more pliable as we process the loss. In addition, difficult times can shape and polish us into more fit vessels that God can use. Another part of all things work together for good, is that the tragedy can draw us to discovering God and His Word as we search for meaning in the loss.

Here are a few texts about everything working together for good:

For we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28 NRSV)

My troubles turned out all for the best — they forced me to learn from your textbook. (Psalm 119:71–72 MSG)

(Joseph speaking to his brothers): You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. (Genesis 50:20 NIV)

God makes everything come out right. (Psalm 103:6 MSG)

Aloneness

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During tough times, I recently felt alone in what I was experiencing as a caregiver. While I have a supportive network of friends and family, sometimes I feel alone, and it is just God and me. There is also the profound aloneness felt when a mate has died or as a result of divorce.

Here are few texts that speak of aloneness:

Turn to me and have mercy, for I am alone and deep distress. … Feel my pain and see my trouble. (Psalm 25: 16, 18 NLT)

I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me. (John 8:16 NIV)

The next morning he was up long before daybreak and went out alone into the wilderness to pray. (Mark 1: 15 TLB)

Always

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There is a beautiful song from the 1950’s called Always that was written in 1952 by Irving Berlin. It was used by many a bride and groom as a wedding song. The song goes, I’ll be loving you, always … not just for a day, not just for a year, I’ll be loving you always. That is what true earthly love is all about. It makes me think of God’s always and forever love to each of us. The Lord’s love is profoundly deeper and is more consistent and constant than any earthly love.

Here are some texts that make use of the word, always:

And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. (Mark 28:20 NIV)

Rejoice in the Lord always [delight, take pleasure in Him]; again I will say, rejoice! (Philippians 4:4 AMP)

I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me. (Psalm 16:8 NLT)

Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. (Hebrews 7:25 NIV)

Among the Chaos of Life

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Among the chaos of life — peace.

Among the frustrations of life — trust.

Among the brokenness and betrayals of life — love.

Your love, Lord, keeps me safe.

Your peace, Lord, washes