Intimacy With God: The Missing Foundation

James 4:8 says,
“Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.”

That verse reveals something powerful — we draw first.

You are the one who determines how close your relationship with God will be. Not God. He has already made Himself available.

Many believers assume that certain people are just “closer to God,” as if they were born that way. But intimacy with God isn’t about position, gifting, or platform.

It’s about desire.

Some of the people who walk closest with Jesus will never stand behind a microphone. They simply chose closeness.

And here’s the beautiful truth:
God desires intimacy with you even more than you desire it with Him.

Scripture says the Spirit who lives in us yearns jealously — meaning He longs for us deeply and continually. God thinks about you constantly. Psalm 139 says His thoughts toward you outnumber the grains of sand on the earth.

You don’t think about someone like that unless you want to be close to them.

So why do so many Christians struggle with intimacy?

Because intimacy requires a foundation.

The Foundation Is the Fear of the Lord

Psalm 89 says God is to be greatly feared and held in deep reverence.

The manifest presence of God will never remain where He is treated casually.

Yes, He is our Father —
but He is also our King.

Reverence invites presence.

The fear of the Lord does not mean being afraid of God. You cannot be intimate with someone you’re scared of.

The fear of the Lord means this:

Being terrified to live without Him.

Those who fear God don’t run from Him — they cling to Him. They don’t ask, “How close can I get to sin?” They ask, “How close can I stay to Him?”

To fear God is to honor Him above everything else — to love what He loves and hate what He hates.

That’s why Scripture says:
“The fear of the Lord is to hate evil.”

Not tolerate it.
Not excuse it.
Hate it.

Because intimacy and compromise cannot exist together.

What Does the Fear of the Lord Produce?

Obedience.

Not partial obedience.
Not delayed obedience.
But obedience that is immediate, wholehearted, and complete — even when it doesn’t make sense, even when it costs something, even when there’s no visible reward.

This is why Abraham was called the friend of God.

When Abraham obeyed without explanation, God revealed a side of Himself no one had ever known before — Jehovah Jireh.

Some revelations are reserved for friends.

Psalm 25:14 says,
“Friendship with the Lord is reserved for those who fear Him. With them, He shares His secrets.”

Not everyone in the church experiences this level of closeness —
but God longs for every believer to.

Jesus said,
“You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.”

Intimacy is offered freely —
but it must be chosen intentionally.

God is not distant.
He is yearning.

He is not angry.
He is reaching.

If we draw near to Him with reverence, humility, and holy fear —
He will draw near to us.