This week, it'll be vital for you to have a Bible, journal, and pen handy. This isn't a "skim it" week of study while you are multi-tasking. I'm going to let you in on some private dialogue between God and me — and I am fervently praying for you to experience the same.
Settle in. Sit. Let God fight for your heart through the wooing of verses:
She
8 Listen! My beloved!
Look! Here he comes,
leaping across the mountains,
bounding over the hills.
9 My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag.
Look! There he stands behind our wall,
gazing through the windows,
peering through the lattice.
10 My beloved spoke and said to me,
"Arise, my darling,
my beautiful one, come with me.
11 See! The winter is past;
the rains are over and gone.
12 Flowers appear on the earth;
the season of singing has come,
the cooing of doves
is heard in our land.
13 The fig tree forms its early fruit;
the blossoming vines spread their fragrance.
Arise, come, my darling;
my beautiful one, come with me."
He
14 My dove in the clefts of the rock,
in the hiding places on the mountainside,
show me your face,
let me hear your voice;
for your voice is sweet,
and your face is lovely.
15 Catch for us the foxes,
the little foxes
that ruin the vineyards,
our vineyards that are in bloom.
She
16 My beloved is mine and I am his;
he browses among the lilies.
17 Until the day breaks
and the shadows flee,
turn, my beloved,
and be like a gazelle
or like a young stag
on the rugged hills.
3 All night long on my bed
I looked for the one my heart loves;
I looked for him but did not find him.
2 I will get up now and go about the city,
through its streets and squares;
I will search for the one my heart loves.
So I looked for him but did not find him.
3 The watchmen found me
as they made their rounds in the city.
"Have you seen the one my heart loves?"
4 Scarcely had I passed them
when I found the one my heart loves.
I held him and would not let him go
till I had brought him to my mother's house,
to the room of the one who conceived me.
5 Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you
by the gazelles and by the does of the field:
Do not arouse or awaken love
until it so desires.
[Song of Songs 2:8-3:5]
I remember when I was around 8 years old, I asked my dad who Jesus married. Not if He was married, but who He married. My dad explained Jesus never was married [gasp] because the Church was His Bride, and we are waiting until He comes back to be wed to Him [insert total confusion].
At that moment, I remember feeling both sad and disappointed. Even as a young girl, I desired to be loved, be married, and have a home. That may not be true of everyone, but it was true of me. And, as my dad explained how we — as the Bride of Christ — were to be wed to Jesus eternally, I didn't feel special because that relationship didn't feel exclusive. In my tiny mind, it was a group unity, not a 1:1 intimacy. It was a general relationship, not a whole love just for me.
And, since that time, I believe God's been on the journey of wooing me with His personal love and kindness, so I'd understand the 1:1 exclusivity that He offers me. I still struggle with this misbelief that God is more "global" than personal. I think He's more macro than micro. I wrestle with the lie that God cannot or will not satisfy me in this profound and unique way as it speaks of in the Song of Songs.
"When the Bible says that God is our husband, and when it says that Jesus is the Bridegroom of our salvation, it means that we are loved with this kind of love--the ardent affection that we see in the Song of Songs. Sometimes we are tempted to think that somehow we are beneath God's notice or to imagine that we have done something so wrong (maybe something sexual) that God could never love us again, or to conclude on the basis of our present troubles that God is not for us but against us." Philip Ryken, The Love of Loves in the Song of Songs
This specific set of verses you just read is about the waiting. Spiritually speaking, it's about what my dad talked to me about when he explained the Church waiting for Him to return so we can be united with Him (Revelation 19:6-9). Marital love is one of the main ways God's Word expresses His desire for His people and about our endless adventure with Jesus Christ.
The Song of Songs is a melody of love, but we must discipline our minds and hearts to be tuned to the heavenly sound. On earth, the musical measures are fractured, and the metronome is irregular. The Song of Songs is meant to show us the way things were always meant to be.
As it says in Song of Songs 2:8, "The voice of my beloved! Behold, he comes..." How do we discern the voice of God? Go back and read 2:8-2:15. Go ahead, I'll wait for you to scroll up or pop open your Bible app. This is an inside dialogue of two lovers, which speaks of the love of you and Christ.
Read the verses now as if it were you and Christ speaking. Do it again. Try a different version — The Message, maybe. Now, grab a journal and a pen, take those verses and ask the Holy Spirit to translate them to your own heart.
Holy Spirit, instruct us at this moment. Give us Christ-driven margin in our day to sit still and be quiet. To allow Your Words to wash over us in a new way so that we may experience this profound and intimate love you speak. Let us receive this exclusive relationship.
As I went through this act of allowing the Holy Spirit to speak to me, here are some of the soul talks I jotted down:
"The voice of my beloved! Behold, he comes, leaping over the mountains, bounding over the hills." —> I hear your voice, Lord. I know you're coming back for Me. You have leaped over the mountain of my sin and over the valley of death. Your blood flows in every crevice so that I can float on Your sea of love in your boat.
"My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag. Behold, there he stands behind our wall, gazing through the windows, looking through the lattice." —> Let me describe my Lord to you. He is full of grace. A grace that transcends and overwhelms my sin and humanity. He knows I am hiding. Behind the wall of shame. Behind the foggy window of my own will, which is so quickly shattered. Behind the lattice of lies, He seeks me.
"My beloved speaks and says to me: 'Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away, for behold, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. The fig tree ripens its figs, and the vines are in blossom; they give forth fragrance. Arise, come, my darling; my beautiful one, come with me.'" —> God Almighty speaks directly to me. He asks me to rise out of my past ashes (Isaiah 61:3) and take His path (John 14:6). The coldness of a distant, unfeeling God is warmed by the Son. There are growth and beauty where there used to be barrenness (Isaiah 54). The fruit of the Spirit begins to ripen in my soul (Galatians 5:22-23), and the Vine I am grafted into makes me into a new creation (John 15). I am the fragrance of Christ (2 Corinthians 2:15-17).
Over time, as you sit with Him. [Literally, sit. Be still without multi-tasking your quiet time, and you will be transformed.] He will begin to speak a fresh Word in your life through His Word.
If you notice in verse 15, it says, "Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom." Every Christian needs a Christian mentor — especially if you are in a romantic relationship. It's essential to have a man or a woman who knows what it means to be married in a way that glorifies God.
We all are called to "catch the foxes" or be godly guardrails for others (men for men and women for women). It takes wise counsel and faithful prayer of a community of believers with whom you can transparently share the struggle and the heartache. Our relationship or marriage with Christ must be safeguarded, just as any blossoming relationship. Satan loves to send his foxes of distractions, fear, addiction, and shame into our vineyards and ravage the fruit in bloom.
Who are those "fox catchers" in your life? Who can come alongside you as a Christian and encourage you along in the faith? Not just as an outsider, but someone you allow to see into your life? If you don't have someone or a couple of people who come to mind, you have some work to do. Connection and transparency require work. You must put effort into connecting with others because relationship involves investment.
Here are a few ideas:
Host a Bible study in your home;
Ask others to join you for prayer time before church;
Check out joining small groups or a Sunday school class;
Ask God to show you a godly person (of the same gender) who can mentor you once a month over coffee.
There are several ways to establish "fox catchers" in your life, but you must seek them out. Take some risk. Transparency is always worth it; we are made to live in the light.
Amen.