In Touch Daily Devotional 8th September 2023, Friday
In Touch Daily Devotional 8th September 2023 – Friday Daily Devotional Message Written Dr. Charles Stanley
TOPIC: Barriers to Intimacy With God
SCRIPTURE: Psalm 63:1-8
What do you want more than anything else in life? Is it a relationship? An opportunity? Most of the things we wish for involve someone else. We all want to be loved. But even our closest relationships can leave us feeling disappointed or lonely at times, despite our best efforts.
Consider our relationship with the Lord. He says he loves us “with an everlasting love” (Jeremiah 31:3), but it can be difficult to know what true intimacy with Him looks or feels like. In Psalm 63, David compares his soul’s great hunger for God to feeling thirst “in a dry and exhausted land where there is no water” (v. 1) Have you ever felt that kind of longing for God’s company? It’s exactly the kind of closeness He wants for us.
Perhaps you struggle to feel near to the Lord. It could be pride that’s preventing you from admitting your need for Him. Maybe you feel life’s too hectic to sit in His presence. Or it’s possible you’re afraid to be transparent. That’s understandable, especially if you’ve been betrayed in the past. But remember, God will never fall short the way humans do. Whatever the case, simply start spending a few minutes with Him each day, and you’ll notice you have a bit more margin than you thought.
Pray to discover any barriers standing in the way of a deeper connection. And ask God to reveal steps you can take to experience more oneness and closeness with Him. He will answer.
Bible in One Year: Ezekiel 37-39
Thought: What is keeping you from the joy and peace that come from a close relationship with God?
In Touch Daily Devotional 8th September 2023. Charles Stanley is the senior pastor of First Baptist Church Atlanta and founder of In Touch Ministries, both located in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Stanley’s heart’s desire is to get the gospel to “as many people as possible, as quickly as possible, as clearly as possible, as irresistibly as possible, through the power of the Holy Spirit to the glory of God.