What is "Power Meets Intimacy"?

This concept- the power of God highlighting the intimacy of God- is a thread that has been running through my mind and heart for several years now. At a time in my life when I was crying out to God for healing from a broken relationship, I discovered something beautiful. It came to me through the Word, and was illustrated in amazing ways by creation. God is enormously powerful and huge beyond my imagination AND He wants to have an intimate, personal, day-to-day, moment-by-moment, nitty-gritty relationship with ME. At first these truths seem like they couldn't possibly reconcile, but as you search the Scriptures and realize they DO, your heart can hardly help leaping in amazement and joy. How great is the love that God has poured into our hearts by His Spirit. As a bit of a further introduction to the new focus of this blog, I will copy my very first musings on this subject, from several years ago. I hope it touches your heart and reminds you that God is more than just a powerful force. He is interested. Involved. Intimately- with YOU. Will you join me on a journey to dig deeper into the heart of God?

Power Meets Intimacy

“Nature is too thin a screen; the glory of the omnipresent God bursts through everywhere.”

– Ralph Waldo Emerson

          The glories of nature all around us speak clearly of the character of God, if we will only take the time to stop and ponder.  What is each facet of creation meant to teach us about our Heavenly Father?

            For example, what do you see when you look at a sunset? Its colors tell us of God’s unrivaled beauty, and the fact that we see a different one each evening clues us in to His unmatched creativity. He is a master Artist, painting not only sunrises and sunsets, but new hours and moments into our lives everyday. The roar of a waterfall brings to mind His power and greatness, yet the minuteness of the droplets reminds us that He is intimately involved with us despite His hugeness. The same message is repeated in a towering mountain covered in tiny, intricate snowflakes or a massive ocean filled with microscopic living organisms. In the sights and sounds of our world- and beyond- we are accosted by at least two messages at once: 1) God is POWERFUL!! and 2) God is INTIMATE!! This theme, which seems at first to contradict itself, is represented over and over again in Scripture. He is referred to as “God Most High,” then in the same breath is praised for involving Himself in our daily dilemmas!

            “I will cry to God Most High, to God who accomplishes all things for me.”- Psalm 57:2

             “Once God has spoken, twice I have heard this: that power belongs to God; and lovingkindness is Yours, O Lord…” - Psalm 62:11-12.

          When I see the amazing display of creativity and care in nature I am excited, humbled, and eager to see how God will put His genius to work in my own life. How will He artfully craft my love story? What new lessons will He paint into my life this year in colors I have never seen? I have reason to trust that He who spun the constellations can repair my broken heart. That He whose power holds back the tide has control over my comings and goings. That He who mapped out the rivers of the world has charted out each day of my life and each instance where it intersects with another.

            When this kind of power meets this kind of intimacy, one emotion is immediately recognized: LOVE. A beautiful, all-encompassing, powerful, interested love. God does not only create, He sustains. He faithfully upholds all of creation. The sun keeps on rising and setting. The tide washes in and out. The birds fly and do not fall to the ground. The rain falls to water the earth. The heart beats…again and again. The giant fingers of God spun the galaxies and set the planets in orbit. The tender faithfulness of our Father holds them there, causing the stars to twinkle and shine, night after night.

            When God’s Son, Jesus, humbly descended to this earth- His own creation- this “power-meets-intimacy” concept was fully realized. This God-Man came to our dirty dwelling to work in the details of carpentry. To make friends with 12 ignorant men. And to reconcile each one of us to Himself. To allow us to experience His unbounded power in our own hearts. And to show us in the flesh what it means to be loved intimately by the all-powerful Creator-King.

            What right have we, as the creation, to expect this kind of love from our Maker? Let us respond with open arms, trusting in the wisdom of the Master Artisan and drinking in the unexpected, uninhibited love of our God.