Worship and Spiritual Adultery

Group dates. Purity rings. We parents make a concerted effort to teach our kids to do it God’s way when it comes to intimacy. God elevates the status of physical intimacy by protecting its sanctity with the guardrails of chastity and marriage.

Because intimacy is dirty?

No, because it is precious.

In the little Old Testament book of Hosea, God reveals an unexpected link between worship and intimacy. Physical intimacy is preserved to consummate and bless the lifelong commitment of marriage. Yet God uses word pictures of intimacy to describe Israel’s idol worship.

Words like—unfaithfulness. Adultery. Prostitution.

Sounds pretty strong, doesn’t it?

When His people demonstrated spiritual unfaithfulness, God painted a picture of the worst kind of betrayal. Check out Hosea 2:13, “ ‘…she decked herself with rings and jewelry, and went after her lovers, but me she forgot,’ declares the LORD.”

Could we be guilty of the same thing?

Do we make worship the priority God does?

It’s easy to read a devotional book.

It’s easy to sit and listen to a sermon.

It’s easy to do something in God’s name.

And none of these are wrong—just incomplete.

If I texted, ran errands with, and attended our children’s events with my husband, but neglected our intimacy—I would have one unhappy guy.

How much more precious is worship to God?

So, are we giving God the cold shoulder?

Have our spiritual headaches multiplied?

Worse, are we giving that time and energy to other things instead of giving it to Him?

If your relationship with God seems a little cool, warm things up with some worship.

  • Set some time aside in a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed. (I’m not talking an hour. Five or ten minutes is great. Whatever works with your current situation.)
  • Choose one quality of God or one concept in a worship song. Think on it. Talk to Him about it. Give thanks for it.
  • Use your imagination. Picture your favorite go-to place and get there with Jesus.
  • Keep a notepad handy. When distracting thoughts invade, jot them down then get back to God.
  • Just be still. Rest in His love.
  • Be consistent. The more you’re intimate, the sweeter it gets.

Understand—God wants closeness with you. For Him, that begins with worship.

Questions:

What drives closeness in our relationships with others?

What drives closeness in our relationship with God?

Would you rather your spouse or your children read about you or spend time with you?

Tweetables:

In the book of Hosea, God reveals a link between worship and intimacy. Click To Tweet
With spiritual unfaithfulness, God paints a picture of the worst kind of betrayal. Click To Tweet
Are we giving God the cold shoulder? Click To Tweet
Have our spiritual headaches multiplied? Click To Tweet

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