BENEFITS OF DIVINE INTIMACY (1)

“Now acquaint yourself with Him, and be at peace; thereby good will come to you” – Job 22:21

Some awesome BENEFITS of DIVINE INTIMACY are depicted in the words of Eliphaz, to his friend, Job: “NOW ACQUAINT yourself with HIM, and be at PEACE; thereby GOOD will come to you. Receive, please, instruction from His mouth, and lay up His words in your heart.” (Job 22:21). The New International Version says: “Submit to God and be at peace with him; in this way prosperity will come to you. Accept instruction from his mouth and lay up his words in your heart.” Divine Intimacy is the surest route to receiving His power, authority, anointing and grace to reign and rule our world – the divinely-ordained avenue for making God-glorifying Impact.

Eliphaz spoke to Job during the worst time of his life. Job’s children and wealth were gone. Everything God had blessed him with up till then in his lifetime collapsed within a single day. Even his physical health caved-in. He was certainly not looking for a sermon but sympathy from friends. Although Eliphaz wrongly implied that the tragedy that befell Job was due to sin against God, his words enhance the understanding of true submission to and Intimacy with God: “Submit to God and be at peace with Him” (v.22a, NIV). Submission to the Lord in all things will give us peace, as a fruit. This verse of scripture and the remainder of the chapter are loaded with nuggets of revelation, namely:

Who should we acquaint with or submit to? GOD, the Almighty One, Upholder of the ends of the earth, and Controller of the Universe.

Who must be acquainted with God? – Mortal MAN that’s subject to life’s brevity, frailty, and vanity, but also accessible to Eternal Life. It’s a unique privilege for man, formed from the dust, whose breath is in his nostrils, to be called into fellowship and Intimacy with God.

When should we acquaint ourselves with God? – NOW – not Tomorrow: “Behold, NOW is the accepted time; behold, NOW is the day of salvation” (2Cor.6:2). The command to repent is urgent. Moreover no one knows the day of exit; and after death comes judgement (Heb.9:27).

We are called to “Be at PEACE” – within our body, in our family, with neighbours, and in and with God. Peace does not necessarily come from financial security but confident faith that there is more to life. The Holy Spirit produces the kinds of fruit that satisfy our soul.

“GOOD will come” – Through Intimacy, blessings and prosperity will pursue and embrace us, based on Integrity and obedience.

“Receive, please, instruction from His mouth, and lay up His words in your heart” (v.22). We must each morning get up early to read, study and meditate on the Word, extracting every truth, promise and blessing hidden within the pages. This thriving relationship with Jesus gives us total access to God the Father and His Power, such that in declaring a thing, it shall be established (v.28).