Intimacy With God Kills Loneliness

The lack of intimacy is one of the most painful elements of life. Intimacy is a universal human need; without it we will feel lonely. Loneliness is not the same thing as being alone. There are some people who find great pleasure in solitude yet others who will feel lonely in a crowded room. Loneliness is strong sense of solitude and emptiness and an unbearable feeling of being separate from other people. Being married offers no protection from the dangers of loneliness. In one recent study, 62.5% of people who reported being lonely were married and living with their partner. Modern life is making people feel increasingly lonely, according to the Mental Health Foundation. Lonely people are more prone to developing high blood pressure. Feeling lonely can increase the risk of Alzheimer's in later life.

Since loneliness is one of the most painful of all human experiences, we are driven, consciously or unconsciously, to escape its pain. To do that many people pursue some type of consolation, emotional high, companionship, or warmth. Drinking is a behavior which can provide a certain warmth to the body. But It consoles temporarily. Drugs can also produce a high which will mask, for a period of time , the underlying sadness complex. Other behaviors, which are attempts to rise above the pain of loneliness, include chronic masturbation, pornography, compulsive television watching, eating, shopping, exercising, smoking and playing games.

According to Robert Weis, one of the founding researchers on loneliness, all of us need a special person in our lives, someone who gives us a sense of security or reassurance that we can face the world once again. How often do you believe that if you just found that right person, entered that right relationship, your loneliness would be abated and you will live happily ever after? You don't need ten thousand people, you just need that One special person. You just need Jesus! The lonely feeling in the core your soul can only be filled with the love and grace from Jesus Christ. Only His love alone can fill the emptiness of your heart.
 
Christian life is not about ministry, standards, or outward appearances, but about allowing the Holy Spirit to manifest Himself through us as we experience His grace and mercy anew in our lives each and every day. It is about having intimacy with God. It is about loving Jesus and putting Him first in our lives.

Sometimes God calls us to be separate so He can create something new in us. Often in our solitude and loneliness, we find more satisfaction and a deeper intimacy with Him. The narrow path you are walking right now provides the experiences to enable you to become a new person. So, hang in there, because although growing up is painful — but once you have experienced intimacy with God and have been spiritually resurrected, your spiritual eyes will be opened and you will see His beauty. Your brand new life will be bigger, better, happier, richer, and more satisfying than it has ever been before.

God is not opposed to giving us great pleasure in life. He desires to lavish His riches, grace, mercy, and blessings upon us. He wants us to be so fulfilled in this life, that the cup of our hearts remain in a constant state of overflow. We enter this fulfillment when we have learned the beauty of delighting in God. To delight is to find great pleasure in something. This is the meaning of delighting in the Lord. It is finding such great pleasure in intimacy with Him, that we are totally consumed and utterly satisfied by His love.

By having intimacy with God, what most people call Utopia (Buddhist call Nirvana) can become the most real and living thing in a person’s life.
What I mean with "Utopia" in this context is when:
• You are in a state of bliss and joy.
• You are in the flow and everything is working really well in your life.
• You are fulfilled, happy and content within yourself.
• You are a sea of calmness and peace.
• You feel healthy, energized and full of life.
• Your heart is overflowing with love, gratitude and appreciation.
• You have great relationships with everyone in your life.
• You feel that you have found your calling and you love what you are doing.
• You are not struggling to make something happen (You have found rest in God).

What people want most in life are things like health, wealth, success, popularity, and pleasures. But the true blessings of God are all matters of the soul  — emotional well-being, loving relationships, godly character, and, most of all, God Himself. It's the blessing of God's presence that brings eternal joy, peace and meaning!

Union With God

Westminster Confession has so aptly stated "Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever", communion with God in this life and the next gives us conscious enjoyment of Him, of His glory and His bliss. There is a time of transition on our spiritual journey toward intimacy with God where our focus moves us further from doing to being and from serving to loving. Prayer is nothing else than union with God. This union cannot take place until you have been changed to become like Him. 

God is inviting you to a new quality of life with Him and others, not only to 'do' for Him and others but also to 'be' with Him in a more intimate way and to be with others from a deeper place within you. God wants your heart, not only your good actions. He wants you to overflow with His love. You must be deeply affected by the overwhelming experience of God's love in order to see that love overflow into your life and others.

In romantic love, when two people have sex (union) there are three main neuro-hormones that are released for men and women, and a fourth just for men. These hormones impact the way our bodies behave, and influence our minds and thus our perception of reality.

 The first one is dopamine. Dopamine is the pleasure high, the fireworks, our reward. Dopamine is one of the most fundamental neurotransmitters we have. Basically we are dopamine machines. Dopamine is the feel-good hormone with amazing effects: high attention, improved short-term memory, elation and boldness. The dopamine released during orgasm is equal "in effect" to one shot of heroin, as some scientists claim. The expectation of dopamine drives our mind to control our body to do things. We think you wanted a coffee to perk yourself up, but in fact it was a dopamine cycle that kicked in to make your body get up and find a coffee to sate the dopamine expectation. The endorphins released after orgasm instantly send you into a euphoric state of bliss.

The next is serotonin. Serotonin is serenity, ecstasy and the state of grace. It is the lingering pleasure sensation we get that is less intense than dopamine, but nonetheless a powerful driver for our behaviors. Serotonin is about feeling good, really good.

The third, for both men and women, is oxytocin. Oxytocin is the bonding agent, the cuddle chemical. . According to researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, the hormone oxytocin has been shown to be "associated with the ability to maintain healthy interpersonal relationships and healthy psychological boundaries with other people." When it is released during orgasm, it begins creating an emotional bond — the more sex. 

According to Bernard of Clairvaux, there are 3 level of our relationship with the Lord:
1. The Kiss of the Lord's feet (repentance)
2. The Kiss of the Lord's hands (empowerment change or transformation)
3. The Kiss of the Lord's mouth (intimacy or union with Him) 

Three aspects of spiritual growth are identified:
1. Purification – which is the cathartic work of the Spirit to convict us of sin and to cleanse us and purify us.
2. Illumination – which is the work of the Spirit to lead us into all truth and spiritual knowledge & experience.
3. Union – which is where our hearts and minds are conformed to God’s and we sense our kinship with Him as His children. 

You need to have intimacy with God and for this you have to make a greater sacrifice so you won’t lose that communion with God. Once you stop to pray you break up your intimate communion with God, and your lives will not improve. Be careful, because anxiety comes and the eye of the human being is never pleased wrapping up men in all that is vanity. For that reason you have to be very careful with your spiritual life. When you put God first in your lives, all His goodness will flow from there. 

When you have entered an incredible level of intimacy with God (Union with God), He will become so real to you and you will experience "spiritual orgasm". It releases dopamine, serotonin and oxytocin, the feel-good chemicals in the brain which is released when you have an orgasm. The highest pleasure in terms of matter is sex pleasure. The whole world is moving under its spell, and a materialist cannot work at all without this motivation. But I believe spiritual ecstasy (orgasm) is above and beyond physical orgasm. Once you have enjoyed His intimate presence and the sweetness of His love, you will be addicted to it and all carnal things become meaningless.You will find it is impossible to enjoy anything else but himself. You will be filled with heavenly joy. You will live in divine health, and that even in your old age you will continue to be filled with energy, health and vigor. Dear my brothers and sisters, I pray that you may experience this kind of intimacy with God. 

Once you achieve spiritual maturity and become totally one with Him, you are totally free for the first time in your life because you can love and relate to everyone without attachment. When you are totally united with God, even though you grow old, you will be elevated into the realm of the love of God, then that perfect love will come into you, and you will be rejuvenated to the point of teenagers again.

 

Dear My Child, 

Come to Me with an open heart, ready to be blessed and filled with My Presence. Relax, and feel the relief of being totally open and authentic with Me. You have nothing to hide and nothing to disclose, because I know everything about you already. As you come to Me, feel the Light of My Presence shining upon you. Open your mind and heart to receive My heavenly smile of approval. 

Take time to be refreshed and spend time beside the still waters. Let My presence refresh your soul and renew your strength. Let My love fill your heart. THEN you will minister out of JOY and LOVE with a desire to serve your brothers and sisters, showing them the way to a powerful and fulfilling life in the Holy Spirit.

Let My Love wash over you and soak into the depths of your being. Let My Perfect Love to run through you entire being, casting out all your fear. As you are increasingly filled with My Being, you experience joyous union with Me. I in you, and you in Me. Your Joy-in-Me and My Joy-in-you become intertwined and inseparable. My Light, My Love and My Strength will infuse into your soul.