Chase After God Till You Find HIm

Song Of Solomon 3:1-2 -  All night long on my bed I looked for the one my heart loves; I looked for him but did not find him.  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.

 

Solomon’s poem continues as we hear from the woman he wrote about.  Her predicament is that she must wait each night to see if he will come to her…for he has other choices in his haram. This night…she can’t wait any longer and goes out looking for him.

 

I know that this poem is about the love between a man and woman...and how they just can’t stand being apart….but it strikes me as a read it…that we should have the same relationship with God the father.  I should not be able to rest until I have visited with him…..and I should go out looking for him …and not stop till I find him.

 

It seems that most of the time…my relationship with God is the exact opposite.  The world distracts me with so much that I don’t even remember him till it is time to pick up my Bible at night…or sit at the computer to write a daily devotional…or walk into his sanctuary to worship with my friends.

 

Shame on me…..for letting God be the one who always chases me.  He is the girl in the poem for me…he never stops until he finds me...and gets my attention.  How very blessed I am to have someone who loves me so much.  Surely he can find a way to convince my heart to chase after him for a while.

 

Father…thank you for the reminder that I am loved by you.  Forgive me for taking that fact for granted so many days…and help me to find a way to love you as much as you love me.  Teach me how to chase after you…and not stop till I find you.  Amen.

Be The Lily Among The Thorns

Song Of Solomon 2:1-2 - Beloved - I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys. Lover -  Like a lily among thorns is my darling among the maidens.

 

Solomon continues his poem of love to the maiden that has caught his eye.  She is not like the other women of his huge haram….this one has stirred his heart as no other before. This one has caused his heart to leap inside him.  This one has stirred his creative spirit…enough to compose this poem.

 

Solomon speaks a truth that I sure needed to hear this morning. I feel so ordinary among the many single women that populate the Earth.  I am a common rose of Sharon …or a simple lily…a plain Jane with a few extra pounds from her love of eating and her despise of exercise.

 

Perhaps I am to be singe for a season…Paul said in 1 Corinthians 7:7…. ^“ Sometimes I wish everyone were single like me—a simpler life in many ways! But celibacy is not for everyone any more than marriage is. God gives the gift of the single life to some, the gift of the married life to others.”   That reminds me that is a true gift of God to be content in a life with no mate….giving yourself completely to what God has called you to do with no other distractions.

 

One thing is for sure….if and when he does bless me with another relationship …it will be like this one between Solomon and his lover.  He will see this plain Jane…55 year old battered woman with scars from divorce and the death of her second husband as a beautiful lily…that shed her thorns to keep searching for purpose in the tragedies that God allowed in her life to teach her how to be closer to him.

 

Father…thank you for the reminder that you have a beautiful plan for my life.  Forgive me for the pity parties I sometimes invite my own tears too…when I am feeling lonely and unloved.  Help me to find contentment in this season of singleness…and use it to help you encourage others like me who are struggling with the loss in their lives. Help me to keep searching for purpose in my pain…and turn the pain into another lesson in how to be closer to you. Amen.

The Truest Form of Love

Song Of Solomon 1:7-8 -  Tell me, you whom I love, where you graze your flock and where you rest your sheep at midday. Why should I be like a veiled woman beside the flocks of your friends?  If you do not know, most beautiful of women, follow the tracks of the sheep and graze your young goats by the tents of the shepherds.

 

Song Of Solomon…an intimate poem…even provocative at times…written by the wisest king ever to live. It models for us the truest form of love…between a man and woman…who wait till their wedding bed to share the physical and emotional bond of sex.

 

It is a hard book for me to read….finding myself single…not once after a divorce…but twice after my second love was called too soon to Heaven. I procrastinated this morning…doing silly things to waste time…not readily seeing what this book could offer the single woman. All my heart could do was reflect on the failure of my first marriage…..and long for more time with the second.

 

Perhaps the reminder this morning….is that I need to focus more on the present…and what God has to offer me as a single woman. It is a call to stay pure…to stay more focused on God than searching for a mate. It is a call to wait ...perhaps there will be another one that I long to follow to a field.  Perhaps God will let someone look my way and want me like Solomon wanted her. It is a call to leave the past in the past and look forward to the future of hope that God has planned for me.

 

Father…thank you for the reminder that you have forgiven me for the mistakes of the past.   Thank you for the 30 years with my children’s father…for I love the three wonderful children we had very much.Thank you for letting me experience the wonderful love of Mitchell…for I might not have had any time with him at all. Forgive me for living too much in the past.  Help me to live in the present….and keep my eyes and ears ….and heart focused on you.  Amen.

The Conclusion Of The Matter.....

Ecclesiastes 12:11-13 -  The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails--given by one Shepherd.  Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them. Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body.  Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.

 

Even the wise Solomon knew that he wasn’t the only person people were reading those days. His books are just a few in the whole of the Bible...and the Bible is just one book among many that have been published over the years. So his last chapter in this book tells us to be careful with any words we read outside of the words inspired by God.

 

He tells us our only duty is to fear God and keep his commandments…and that is only completed if we know those commandments fully.  He admitted that study of those rules would weary us.  He knew that we would be tempted to pull scriptures out of context to justify doing what we want. He even warned us to be careful of the many books that would be written to try and confuse us.

 

2 Timothy 2:15 tells us… “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be  ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”  That reminds me that I should not only read the Bible….but really study it….to know what it says.  I need to know it well enough that I don’t have to use google to find the reference.  I need to know it well enough that it will fill my mind with the right thing to do …every time I am faced with a decision….like it did Jesus when he was tempted in the wilderness. 

 

Father….thank you for the reminder that I need to step up my study of your word.  Forgive me for the times I have justified my short times reading you word…or the few minutes I spend writing about it each day…as enough to really know it well enough to let it rule my life.  Help me to find time to really study...to memorize…to place your word so deep within my heart and soul that nothing can ever take it away from me.  Give your word so much meaning in my life that it comes off the pages and helps me to transform who I am into a servant you can use to change others.  Amen.

Walk By Faith....Not By Sight

Ecclesiastes 11:4-6 -  Whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at the clouds will not reap.  As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother's womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things.  Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let not your hands be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well.  

 

Solomon leaves us a reminder that faith and total trust in God is an important part of a focused relationship with him.  God created the world in such a complex manner…we will never understand many of the ways it works. Just as life is breathed into a baby from inside her body… God breathes understanding into our soul best when we walk by faith.

 

It is a great reminder to me that if I wait for everything to be in place that I think should be there….I might miss one of the greatest blessings God has prepared for me. If I wait for perfect conditions…I might leave quite a bit undone. Paul agreed with Solomon.  He told us in 2 Corinthians 5:7 to walk by faith…not sight. 

 

Perhaps part of the reason we need to walk more by faith is to show our commitment to God. We must be prepared to do what God says…no matter what we think.  Abraham must have been completely confused inside….making the trek to the mountains to sacrifice the one son God had promised for so long. He must have worshiped like never before when that angel stopped his hand…and they saw the lamb stuck in the brush close by.

 

I sure needed the reminder today…to be ready to walk more by faith….and just roll with the flow of life…whatever it brings.  Romans 8:28 says…. “ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”  That means if I keep my eyes …and my heart….and my ears….focused on God…..my feet and hands will quickly respond to his voice when he speaks. 

 

 

Father…thank you for the reminder that I need to walk more by faith.  Forgive me for the time that I have let my flesh guide my feet and hands.  Put some blinders on my eyes…so I will see you only.  Put a filter on my ears…so I will hear your voice more clearly.  Put a new passion in my heart to be what you want me to me…so the world can’t trick me so easily.   Amen.

Risk Isn't Risky ....If God Is by Your Side

Ecclesiastes 10: 8-10 Whoever digs a pit may fall into it; whoever breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake.  Whoever quarries stones may be injured by them; whoever splits logs may be endangered by them.  If the ax is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed but skill will bring success.

 

Solomon reminds us in this chapter that there is an element of risk in everything we attempt to do.  Even sitting and doing nothing is risky because it leaves us with no skill at all.  Only hard work that is ordained by God will bring any sort of success.

 

I am guilty if not trying sometimes because I feel ill-equipped to do what I think he wants me to do.  I stammer like Moses and make excuses after excuses.  God just listened and let Moses vent…then he asked him what he held in his hand at that moment. The simple wooden rod he proclaimed to be nothing…became a powerful tool of authority and freedom for Moses as he realized that God would be right by his side the whole mission God was sending him on.

 

God tells us in Hebrews 13:21 that he would give us what we need to do what he calls us to do. I need to embrace that promise this morning as I end another year at my teaching job…and consider what plans he has for me this summer. I am sure I have what I need to be confident and successful if I make sure it is sharpened with prayer and the study of God’s word.

 

Father…thank you for the reminder that I am to be busy doing your work every day. Help me to build a confidence in you that will prevent me from shying away from a task I think I cannot do.  Give me the wisdom to see the same vision you see…so I can stay in  the center of your will for my life…and be the most effective servant I can be. Amen.

God's Love is The Cure For Hopelessness

Ecclesiastes 9:3 - It seems so tragic that one fate comes to all. That is why people are not more careful to be good. Instead, they choose their own mad course, for they have no hope. There is nothing ahead but death anyway.

 

Solomon sneaks a verse into this chapter that helps explain the reason people who don’t believe in God have no hope.  They see only the earthly time we spend on the Earth…they have no vision of God’s future for their lives.

 

Those of us that believe in God can claim the promise of Jeremiah 29:11…. “For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”  We know that this earth is only a temporary place to live…while God prepares our place in Heaven.

 

It reminds me how important it is to tell others about God. We might be their only chance to hear about the great love of God that will change their outlook on the hopelessness they feel without him.  It reminds me that my priorities should be finding ways to share the great things God has done for me…just because he loves me.

 

Father…..thank you for taking away the hopelessness I felt before knew you.  Forgive me for taking your love and promise of hope for granted some days…and not sharing it with others.  Help me to find ways to share your love….so others can shed teir hopelessness too. Amen.