How we can move from Self-Sufficiency to Christ-Intimacy

God’s purpose for you is to experience His presence! Today, my dear friend Jeannie Cunnion shows us how we can encounter God intimately in our daily lives through the power of the Word and person of the Holy Spirit! I’m so delighted to welcome Jeannie to the farm’s table today…

Guest post by Jeannie Cunnion

I’m not a sleepwalker, but I’ve slept in homes with people who are. It’s wild to watch how that person seems to be functioning as if they’re awake. Their eyes may be open. They may perform routine actions such as getting dressed or eating. But all in a deep sleep!

Could it be that many of us are doing something similar in our relationship with Jesus, going through the motions, not fully awake to the life we’ve been invited into in Christ? 

Here is the beautiful news! The Holy Spirit is ready to awaken us from our slumber into a more vibrant relationship with God! From our sleepwalking into deeper Spirit-walking!

“The Holy Spirit is ready to awaken us from our slumber into a more vibrant relationship with God! From our sleepwalking into deeper Spirit-walking!“

But for this to happen, for us to enjoy a more intimate relationship with Him, we need to have soft hearts and open hands to both the power of the Word and the person of the Holy Spirit!

For example, if you love studying and unpacking Scripture, you might tend to overlook the essentiality of the Holy Spirit in your relationship with God. 

On the other hand, if you know the power of the Holy Spirit in your life and walk in step with Him, you might tend to overlook the essentiality of the Word in your relationship with God.

As someone who spent the majority of her life as the former, loving the Word but having little appreciation for the work of the Spirit, I am passionate about the union of Word and Spirit.

I’m so grateful that doesn’t mean I didn’t know intimacy with God before I began appreciating the work of the Spirit. That’s the beauty of the Holy Spirit. Even when we’re neglecting His presence, or unsure of His purpose, He’s still faithfully at work in us and for us!

But when we do welcome His presence, respond to His promptings, follow His guiding, and rely on His power, we will know a kind of intimacy only those who are led by the Word and Spirit can know. Both knowledge about God and intimacy with God are essential. 

Just one example of the immeasurable power in the divine merging of Word and Spirit is in the beautiful story of Jesus, in the hours after His resurrection, in Luke 24. Two men were walking along a road outside Jerusalem on the way to Emmaus, lamenting the crucifixion of Christ and feeling all hope is lost, when Jesus suddenly joined them. But they did not recognize Him as He spoke to them. What did Jesus tell them? 

“Even when we’re neglecting His presence, or unsure of His purpose, He’s still faithfully at work in us and for us!“

He started at the beginning, with the Books of Moses, and went on through all the Prophets, pointing out everything in the Scriptures that referred to him. 

They came to the edge of the village where they were headed. He acted as if he were going on but they pressed him: “Stay and have supper with us. It’s nearly evening; the day is done.” So he went in with them. And here is what happened: He sat down at the table with them. Taking the bread, he blessed and broke and gave it to them. At that moment, open-eyed, wide-eyed, they recognized him. And then he disappeared. 

Back and forth they talked. “Didn’t we feel on fire as he conversed with us on the road, as he opened up the Scriptures for us?” (Luke 24:28–32 Message )

Their hearts burned within them as Jesus, full of the Spirit, unpacked the Scriptures that have always pointed to Him. The beauty and essentiality of Word and Spirit are on full display. 

“What the Spirit of God did for those men He delights to do today—making His presence intimately known so we burn with affection as we open the Scriptures.“

What the Spirit of God did for those men He delights to do today—making His presence intimately known so we burn with affection as we open the Scriptures. The Spirit of Truth brings encounter. He makes the presence of God palpable. 

The men on the road weren’t sleepwalking, but they needed the Spirit to open their eyes to see it was Jesus—the Word made flesh—in their presence. 

How much sweeter would our lives with Jesus be if we were committed to both the principles of the Word and the power of the Spirit, to both head knowledge and heart affection? We need both sound doctrine and intimate experience for a deeper life with God. What would happen then? 

I think we would look a lot like the early church. There would be revival, an outbreak of hearts burning for Jesus, and lives transformed into His likeness. 

Theology without intimacy leads to dry religion. Dry religion is often about the outward appearance. It’s more about looking good than loving God. Checking the boxes and staying in line. But there is no intimacy when you’re walking on eggshells.

“Depending on our good works and becoming proud of how we appear draws us deeper into self-sufficiency and further from Christ-intimacy. “

If we read the Bible as a manual for “training in righteousness” and apply it without the love and transforming power of the Spirit, there may be behavior modification, but the heart will stay stubborn, and growth will be stunted. 

Without Word + Spirit, we will be left with swelled heads and shrunken hearts. We will grow in self-righteousness—the death blow to growing in Christ-righteousness. Depending on our good works and becoming proud of how we appear draws us deeper into self-sufficiency and further from Christ-intimacy. 

But! Theology with intimacy cultivates authentic relationship with our living God. Word + Spirit activates obedience and transformation in our lives.

We get to invite the empowering Holy Spirit to invade our hearts as we study and seek to live by the Word. God’s Spirit awakens and energizes our spirit and ensures we don’t sleepwalk through the good things God has planned for us.

He makes our hearts burn within us with gratitude for what Jesus has done for us, compelling us to live in response to God’s grace. He invites us into life-altering intimacy with our Savior as we walk in obedience to the life-giving Word!

Jeannie Cunnion is a bestselling author and speaker who is passionate about helping us know and experience God’s love and presence in our daily lives. Jeannie holds a master’s degree in social work, and she is the co-founder of The 509 Foundation. She and her husband, Mike, live in Greenwich, Connecticut, with their five boys. 

If you desire to feel God’s soul-refreshing presence and hear Him speaking in your daily life, Jeannie invites you to grow in deeper intimacy with Him in her newest devotional, Closer to God: A 40-Day Pursuit of God’s Personal Presence. Filled with rich truths from Scripture and journaling prompts for reflection on what the Holy Spirit is showing you, this transformational resource will help you enjoy the deeper life with God that you long for. Learn more and connect with Jeannie at JeannieCunnion.com.

{Our humble thanks to Bethany House for their partnership in today’s devotional.}