Shana Schutte writes;
One of my girlfriends was lonely and frustrated that God hadn’t delivered her greatest desire: a husband. Never married and 40, she was tired of praying and waiting and waiting and waiting, but most of all she was convinced that her life was somehow less-than. “Being single is not the abundant life!” she stated emphatically. I certainly identified with the sometimes heart-wrenching emotions of feeling like the only girl without a date to the prom. I empathized with her loneliness, her cries late at night when only God can hear and her zillion prayers for a man she wasn’t even sure exists. But the absence of abundant life? Our conversation sent me running for my Bible where I found (John 10:10.)”The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy, but I have come that they might have life and have it to the full.”The word “LIFE” jumped off the page. I had to look up its meaning. In the definition, I found the prescription for my friend’s sickness of heart: God Himself is the abundant life that both she and I seek—not relationship with a man.”
The Greek word for life is “ZOE” (the original language) and means:
“LIFE, referring to the principle of life in the spirit and the soul. (emphasis mine). [ZOE is] all the highest and best that Christ is, which He gives to the children. The highest blessedness of the creature.”
Supernatural Life (with a capital “L”). God’s Life inside of me. Inside of you. In the spirit. In the soul. God-given. God-originated. God-fueled. The highest blessing we can have this side of heaven. Christ Himself.
Friends, the first step to developing an intimate (and fulfilling) love relationship with God is to admit that the abundant life He promises will never be found in another person. Instead, as the definition of “zoe” (life) shows, true abundant life is internal and it’s found in Christ alone.
Don’t get me wrong; God created us to experience human love, and romance can add a wonderful dimension to life. But romantic love will never be able to trump an intimate love relationship with God. Frankly, God likes it this way because He doesn’t want any contenders for your heart; He’s jealous for your affection (Ex. 34:14).
Secondly: Accept That a Fulfilling Intimate Love Relationship With God is PERSONAL
Some things with God are so personal, so intimate, that they cannot be described with words, they can only be felt with the heart. This is how true intimacy with God is; we feel that no one else can really understand the special bond that we share with Him because it’s altogether personal.
This describes my relationship with Christ. He has comforted me as I have cried, directed me, taught me, rebuked me, guided me and loved me. There have been times when I have thought that my heart would burst with emotion for Him.
“Who could understand the depth of my relationship with Him but me and my Savior?”
This is true intimacy with God: when we feel that no one else would totally understand, even if we tried to explain, because relationship with God is personal.
If you haven’t ever committed yourself to a personal relationship with Him, it’s not fraught with difficult requirements and religious duties. He doesn’t ask that you change yourself before you commit yourself to Him; He just asks that you come as you are, confess your sin to Him, recognize your need to have your sins forgiven and accept His gift of forgiveness that He has offered to you through His death on the cross (Matt. 27:1-66, 2 Cor. 5:21). After you have done this, you can begin a life-long conversation with Him which is part of the abundance of “zoe.”
Lastly, remember that just as developing intimacy with another person takes time, so it is with relationship with God. As you grow to trust Him and believe what He says in His Word more and more, your love affair with Him will become increasingly fulfilling and the abundance of “zoe” will grow inside your spirit and soul, encapsulating your entire being with a supernatural sense of joy and fulfillment you’ve never had before and can’t explain, but it’s very real.
As you do this, God will give you the faith to trust Him to bring the right person in your life at the right time. You won’t get so frustrated with God, but trust Him in a much greater way because you know His plan is perfect. You will experience a deeper sense of His peace & joy today & for your future. “Zoe” (God’s Life) will animate your entire being.
This is the extravagant love we don’t have to keep looking for because it has already found us! This is the perfect, unconditional love that comes from our Father and revealed to us at the cross of Jesus Christ His Son for us. Let His love embrace you today and trust your tomorrows, and all your prayers, for a future spouse in His loving, all-powerful hands. He has not forgotten you.
David Crews Ph.D. Publications 