Week 9 - Intimacy
You cannot win a fight without the right resources. You can only extend the success of an armed force as far as your supply lines will support. Otherwise, you find yourself behind enemy lines without food or ammunition. This is just as true in spiritual warfare as it is in doing battle in the natural.
In Volume 40, Issue 6 of Dr. Cliff Welborn’s Blog, Army Logistician, Welborn addresses the topic of Supply Line Warfare. ( Link )
Soldiers require the same basic life necessities as civilians: nutrition, shelter, and medical supplies to maintain good health. But soldiers must also have weapons and the consumables that weapons need to function, such as ammunition, repair parts, and fuel. So, not surprisingly, great warriors throughout history have carefully planned their strategies around logistics.
“His plans include meeting our basic necessities as well as our spiritual needs as a soldier in His army. ”
Great military minds from Alexander the Great to Napoleon Bonaparte and George Washington took great care to focus on the supply of their troops. It is a part of being a great warrior. A great warrior knows that there are a lot of factors swirling around a fight that influence the outcome.
You are a great warrior, because God has called you one. But, He doesn’t expect you to win your battles all by yourself. As a matter of fact, He never expects victory outside of complete dependence on Him. You might not be a brilliant strategist on your own. He designed you to channel His strategy and His resource. He made plans before the start of time to give you everything you need to live a victorious life. His plans include meeting our basic necessities as well as our spiritual needs as a soldier in His army.
In Emmaus, we always point out that men have real needs in their life. Like Dr. Welborn alluded to, there are the basic needs like food, shelter, and other supplies. We get caught trying to feed our illegitimate wants instead of our legitimate needs. Deuteronomy 8:3 tells us that it’s not just our basic needs that sustain us. It’s a constant connection to God and hearing His voice that gives us life.
Knowing how to use our spiritual weapons is essential. As men, we get the weapon part, “Give me a weapon and I’ll kill it.” But what we don’t always understand is what intimacy does to improve our ability to fight. Before I go any further, let’s define intimacy.
We need to know and be known by God. That is an essential part of our supply line. We have a deep and profound need for closeness, camaraderie, and affection. That supply line between God and us is more important than I can emphasize in a million words. Receiving what God has for us on a daily basis is the difference between success and defeat. We don’t only go to Him so we can requisition basic supplies. “God, I need stuff” might work for a civilian. But this is War, Son! We need to soak in God’s presence and let Him speak things into our spirit that we are in desperate need of to survive.
This world is fighting to cut your supply line with God. If the Enemy can choke that supply line between you and God, he has a chance to keep you out of the fight. That is why the enemy will bring temptation, shame, and guilt to your front door everyday. Separation from God might come in the form of being too busy or even simple entertainment. If the enemy can convince you that God doesn’t love you or have good things for you, you will stop looking to Him. That is why Jesus died and was resurrected. So you don’t have to be alone. He sacrificed himself so you can see His goodness and know who you really are as a powerful force in the spirit.
We NEED a deep connection with God to not only survive but also thrive. God is ALWAYS right there with His hand extended. His hands are overflowing with everything you need to take another step forward. He will take your weakness, and give you vision instead. He craves intimacy with you. He created you because He wants to know you and be known by you. Intimacy is one of the keys to sustained victory.
Process & Reflect:
Do you know your pathways to getting in front of God? Do you actually know what intimacy looks like for you? Have you ever experienced real Godly intimacy with another person? Could you show another person how to get to the provision you’ve found?
Who in your world is waiting to get the supplies God is wanting to give to you?
Daily Training for Week 9
DAY 1 | SCRIPTURE
Matthew 3:16-17
As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on Him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
Process & Reflect:
Attention: “The spirit of God descended like a dove alighting on Him.”
Affirmation: “This is my Son...”
Affection: “Whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
All these words came from The Father to His Beloved Son. If Jesus needed these three forms of intimacy, how much more do we?
DAY 2 | SCRIPTURE
John 17:3
3 Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
Process & Reflect:
Knowing God is baked into the story of a life lived for God. It’s not extra credit. Knowing God isn’t reserved for the “extra” Christians. Eternal life isn’t reserved for eternity either. Eternal life is the beautiful God ordained, God focused, God fueled life that we get to experience here on earth. What if, and I mean really, what if God is knowable to you? Is it worth trying to experience that knowing exchange with Him? What do you think it will take to get there with Him?
DAY 3 | SCRIPTURE
1 John 2:17
And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
Process & Reflect:
Abiding by definition is to accept or act in accordance with. The opposite of your lust is not emptiness. It is the abundance of God in you that silences the lust and dissolves the distractions of this world. Acting in accordance with God’s love sets a standard that your addictions and brokenness cannot compete against. But you have to begin that process to taste and see that it is as good as you heard it could be. What have you been abiding with?
DAY 4 | SCRIPTURE
Jeremiah 33:3
Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.
Process & Reflect:
This scripture finds God addressing the people of His promise. Sometimes, we don’t know how to proceed in times of trouble because we don’t trust that God will tell us what we need to know. We try to figure things out in our own understanding. You have access to the creator of the universe. He promises to tell us what we need to know out of His great understanding. But we have to practice listening to him and hearing his voice through the word. It’s not Magic or Divination. You can’t MAKE God tell you the mysteries of the cosmos. You can however quiet you mind and your life and allow Him the opportunity to show you in His loving kindness.
DAY 5 | SCRIPTURE
1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Process & Reflect:
One of the biggest barriers to intimacy is feeling unworthy. We also sometimes judge other people and even God as unworthy of our intimacy. This scripture is God speaking to us in bold black and white text. He will cleanse us and make us right in His sight. Allow God to search your heart. If He brings something to your attention to repent for, do it. Then stand in faith that He will forgive you and restore you. Don’t stop there, now you can pray with a different posture. In His mercy you can come boldly in his presence and soak in His goodness. Ask him for the supplies you need to fight your battles. Ask Him to show you how you fit in His plans as a Son and Heir to the Kingdom.
DAY 6 | SCRIPTURE
Philippians 3:7-8
But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.
Process & Reflect:
Knowing comes from studying something. Being in the presence of something. Observation, testing, mentally and emotionally exploring something leads to knowing something intimately. That is the knowing referenced here. To spend time in intimate connection with Jesus is a worthy endeavor. It takes time and practice to know Jesus, just like any other relationship. How do you make time to foster that “knowing” Jesus?
DAY 7 | SCRIPTURE
Matthew 10:30
But even the hairs of your head are all numbered.
Process & Reflect:
God knows you. You don’t have anything that will surprise Him. We just have to agree in faith that He still loves us anyway. Start a prayer with that… “You know the number of hairs on my head, I have nothing to hide. I need to be known by you God, and I need to know you. Help me experience your goodness and your kindness in the land of the living.” Give yourself time today to soak in that experience. It will be hard, but God is willing to meet you in a real way if you make room for him to know you and be known by you.