JANUARY 21, 2025
Topic: “BENEFITS OF INTIMACY WITH GOD: A DISTINGUSHING FACTOR”
Text: Deuteronomy 34:10-12
Memory Verse: “Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face” Deuteronomy 34:10.
Earlier, we established that intimacy with God has benefits for us. We considered how intimacy helps us to know the will of God, and act appropriately. Today, we will consider another benefit of intimacy, which is that intimacy with God makes men distinct, and grants them success in their endeavours. Moses had such a great and fulfilled ministry among the Israelites and was even regarded highly by Pharaoh. Yet, today’s passage of study attributed his success to his intimacy with God.
The Israelites experienced diverse miracles, from their deliverance in Egypt to their sustenance in the wilderness by God, but through the hands of Moses. The results that made Moses successful in His God-given assignment can be traced to his intimacy with God. The Bible affirmed that God “made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel” (Psalm 103:7). Moses only had to do as he was commanded and testimonies followed. Every result that man enjoys is an offshoot of his intimate relationship with God.
The same principle applied to Daniel. Even when he was taken captive in a far-away land, his intimacy with God distinguished him and gave him answers when other people struggled to even know the question (Daniel 2:1-19). The king demanded an interpretation of a dream that he could not remember, yet Daniel was able to tell the king both the dream and the interpretation because God had revealed them to him. Although Daniel was a captive in a foreign land, he was able to serve with four different regimes because he was distinguished among men because of his intimacy with God (Daniel 1:21).
Dearly beloved, intimacy with God distinguishes a man among his contemporaries and grants such an individual success in whatever he lays his hands upon to do. Anyone that is intimate with God is extraordinary among men. As men whom God has called to be light in this dark world, we cannot effectively shine our lights if we are not intimate with Him because we only see light in His light (Psalm 36:9).
PRAYER: Father, please help me to be intimate with You, thus distinguishing me among men, and granting me success in all my endeavours in Jesus’ name I pray, Amen