Conquering Your Fear of Intimacy – Part 1

The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame. Genesis 2:25

Adam and Eve had no secrets from each other. ‘They were both naked…and were not ashamed.’ As a couple, God said they had power to rule the world. And that’s when Satan entered the picture. What did he attack? Their intimacy! ‘The eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings’ (Genesis 3:7). The word intimacy means ‘to be open, transparent, and trusting’. When Adam and Eve lost that, they started hiding from God – and each other. And we’ve been hiding from each other ever since. Emotional intimacy is the bedrock of any meaningful relationship. Without it, relationships become shallow and unfulfilling. We are afraid of revealing to others our fears, needs, insecurities, secrets, hopes, dreams, weird opinions, or our undesirable parts. And this fear is rooted in the fear of loneliness: ‘If you really knew me, you’d leave me.’ Or the fear of inadequacy: ‘You may be disappointed in me because I cannot fulfil all your expectations.’ Or the fear of losing control: ‘Now that you know how I feel, you may use it to control me.’ Women play ‘hard to get’, and men play the ‘tough guy’ who doesn’t need anybody. What’s the answer? Learning to pray together. Our most honest moments are before the God who already knows everything about us. When we share such moments the barriers come down, our hearts tenderize towards one another, and we move closer together.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, help me overcome the fear of intimacy that hurts relationships. In Jesus’ Name, Amen