OUTSOURCING YOUR INTIMACY ! Thoughts on Relationship with God From the Edges.

Devotional: Outsourcing Your Intimacy with God
From the heart of Pastor Calvin Cook
August 1, 2025
Scripture Focus: Jeremiah 29:13 (ESV) “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”

Prelude – (written after the devotional was written) Todays devotional is from a series of moments with God in seeking and discernment during prayer, scripture reading and listening to a variety of venues. Please take time with this today and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to you individually.

I listen to a variety of podcasts and videos on a wide range of subjects that interest me. Most recently I have been listening to different Podcast and reading books that I normally would have passed by from a multitude of genres but most all centering around the move of the Holy Spirit, Church planting – development – growth – renewal – and revival.

More importantly, the focus on personal Spiritual development and care has taken priority. If I am not in a good place, how can I help others to be in a good place. If I am not growing in my relationship with God, Father – Son – and Holy Spirit – how can I help others to grow in their relationship with God.

Recently I either heard or read these words – “Do not outsource your intimacy with God to someone or something else.” These words stuck with me !

One evening in my nighttime prayers the words kept being repeated in my subconscious, causing me in the middle of the night to write them in my bedside journal. When words wake you up – I take that as being an important word of the Holy Spirit and one that should not be forgotten.

All of this to bring us to the following thoughts :

We are living in a world that is saturated with branding, advertising, news, images, articles, etc. etc. etc. all of these centered to get us to the way someone else is thinking or vying for our attention. In the pursuit hopefully of holiness there are podcasts, sermons, social media influencers, and devotionals (yes—even this one), where it is easy to fall into the trap of letting others do the spiritual heavy lifting.

In this I believe we listen to people talk about God instead of spending time with God. While teaching, community, and encouragement are vital, they are no substitute for personal intimacy with the Lord. This to me is one of the reasons for centuries the preacher, teacher, evangelist, churches have been inviting people to experience a personal relationship with Jesus.

You cannot outsource your relationship with God. No preacher, author, mentor, or worship band can cultivate it for you. Like any meaningful relationship, intimacy with God takes time, attention, and intentional pursuit. God is desiring your heart and to have a personal intimate relationship with you—not just your attendance or acknowledgment. This my friend, is a game changer, more importantly an eternity changer.

Gail was recently sharing with me some thoughts she had read about in a book that our ladies book club is reading through together. Gail shared it and spoke to her how the author of the book had shared the relationship between Saul, Jonathon, and David. How King Saul was asked to do something by God and passed it off to Jonathon who had become best friends with David. The outcome was that Saul had passed off, learning God’s word and writing it down. Jealously arose when later it was realized how this had changed Jonathon and David leaving Saul out of the picture causing great jealousy and hatred.

Gail shared these words with me and in my evening prayers the words “Don’t outsource your intimacy with God to someone or something else.” This is what Saul did, and things didn’t end well for him.

When we outsource our intimacy, we rob ourselves of the joy of hearing God’s voice personally. We trade a face-to-face relationship for secondhand stories. But God isn’t seeking fans or followers from a distance. He’s seeking sons and daughters who walk with Him daily, who know His whisper, and who live from the overflow of His presence.

Likewise – Satan is trying to do the same thing in the form of distracting you from the truth of God and from this intimacy. Evil has continued to weave a plan of bitter destruction and distraction into many hearts. Even, and this is hard to hear into the hearts of those who think through a simple commitment they are in a good place and yet have either not prioritized their relationship with God and or traded it in for what the world says, or an atheist says, or the popular trend of society says.

All I can do is present what I feel at this point the Holy Spirit is speaking and share it. All I can do is to live in to what God is claiming or reclaiming in me for the sake of His glory. As I often say “I can’t do it for you !” You have to do it for yourself !

Reflection Questions:
1. Have I been relying on others to do the seeking for me?
2. What does it look like for me to personally pursue God today?
3. Where can I create space to sit at His feet this week?

Prayer:
Lord, forgive me for the times I’ve outsourced my relationship with You. Stir in me a hunger to know You deeply and personally. Teach me to seek You with all my heart, not just through others, but face-to-face. Amen.