Podcast Episode 170 - Growing Closer to God pt 5 - Removing the Intimacy Blocks
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Do you still feel like something’s blocking you from really getting close to God?
Do you also struggle with letting other people into your life?
Have you ever shut out someone that was trying to help you?
It’s time for growing closer to God, part 5! We’ve discovered the lens we see God affects our ability to grow closer to God. We’ve also learned how to rest. Rest in His Love, His Grace and His Presence.
Today is for you if…
If you’re still struggling to let Father in like something is blocking you from getting close.
If you’re tired of it all feeling like work.
If you’re ready to let go of the past and step into a closer relationship with God.
Growing closer to our Heavenly Father isn’t about doing it’s about being.
It’s about the relationship. And one of the closest, most intimate kinds of relationships.
But as you’re learning to rest in Father’s love, grace and presence, you might have run into a block. Like an invisible something is keeping you apart.
The biggest block I’ve seen that keeps people from growing closer to God is…Fear
And fear can show up in all kinds of ways.
Fear of looking stupid or incompetent.
Fear of being vulnerable or taken advantage of.
Fear that if they see the real, you’ll be rejected.
Fear of not being good enough or perfect.
Fear you don’t matter as much as someone else.
Fear your needs don’t matter as much as someone else.
Fear of abandonment or won’t be taken care of.
Fear of what other people will think.
Fear usually comes from our past hurts.
Fear thinks its job is to keep us “safe.” But this safety comes at a cost–and it’s a high one!
Fear causes us to withdraw.
Maybe we don’t always withdraw physically; it could be we withdraw mentally or emotionally, or we withdrawal by not giving 100% of ourselves.
Fear puts a wall up to keep us safe from getting hurt again. The bigger the hurt, the bigger the wall.
But that wall keeps us from our beautiful, close intimate relationship with our Heavenly Father.
It doesn’t allow us to experience how loved we are or embrace the grace Father gives us through Jesus.
The wall keeps us from resting in His presence.
How do we remove the block and break down the wall of fear?
Fear doesn’t come from Father.
1 John 4:18 NASB
There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.
In the original language this was written in, Greek, fear (phóbos) means withdrawal.
Abbott-Smith commentary says fear conveys fleeing because of feeling inadequate (without sufficient resources).
Have you ever felt inadequate or without sufficient resources, so you backed off?
I know I have… that’s where my freeze mode is strongest when I’m in comparison mode.
1 John 4:18 says, but perfect love casts out fear.
What is perfect love?
Love in this scripture is talking about God’s ‘agape’ love. A love that goes beyond who we are to who we are because of who He is.
It’s a love that loves us no matter what. Agape talks about God’s preference. It’s divine love.
The good news is He prefers us!
1 Peter 2:9 NIV
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
You are God’s special possession. He prefers us.
But how does perfect love cast this fear out?
Let’s go back to 1 John 4:18–Perfect love casts out fear.
Perfect in this scripture means: mature from passing through the necessary stages to reach the end goal.
It’s like a sailor’s telescope.
For a telescope to work, each stage opens up one at a time until it’s fully extended. It passes through stages until it reaches its end goal–allowing you to see further than you could with your naked eye.
Perfect love means we go through each growth stage to understand God’s, incredible love.
The next part of 1 John 4:18 says, “but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment.”
Fear involves punishment. Punishment means torment from living in the dread of impending judgment.
We get punished and judged by people all the time. We’ve been hurt, talked about, rejected, abandoned, laughed at, and left out. We’ve been put on a pedestal and fear if we aren’t perfect, we’ll get yanked off and thrown into the unloved pile.
We might fear God’s judging us too.
How many times have you heard in church that if you don’t do X, God will be disappointed with you?
The great news is Jesus took any punishment we would have received from us through his death and resurrection.
Ephesians 2:8 NIV
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.
We don’t have to earn it–He earned it for us!
Remember, rest in His Grace.
Even if we FEEL inadequate, our Heavenly Father is enough. And, because of what Jesus did on the cross for us, we are enough.
2 Corinthians 5:21 NKJV
For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
As 1 John says, as we’re perfected or matured in divine love, it casts out fear.
We’re not going to let fear block us from growing closer to God.
As you take steps to mature in this love of God that we’ve talked about over the last five episodes, it removes the fear and tears down the wall so you can enjoy this intimate relationship with Father.
Homework–Courageous Moment:
Continue to meditate on your Heavenly Father’s perfect love for you!
The gospel is “too good to be true news.” I encourage you to explore just how good that good news is. I’m on this same journey with you.
Go back through this series if you need to, and remind yourself of Father’s love and grace.