Claire's Prayer

I often have great intentions, but the busyness of life, procrastination on my part, and the squirrels in my head, (oh those squirrels!) often distract me from my destination.  But I am learning, and one of those things that I have learned is that nothing about being in relationship with our Eternal God is passive.  There’s always a part we must play, a choice we have to make. 

Let’s take a look at a few examples from the Word of God:

“𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒊𝒕 𝒖𝒑𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝑶𝑹𝑫 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒉…” Isaiah 40:31

“𝑻𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝑶𝑹𝑫 𝒊𝒔 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅; 𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒖𝒈𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒎.” Psalm  34:8

“𝑫𝒓𝒂𝒘 𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝑮𝒐𝒅, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑯𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒅𝒓𝒂𝒘 𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖.”  James 4:8

“𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝑶𝑹𝑫 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓; 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒓𝒖𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒊𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒇𝒆.”  Proverbs 18:10

“𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝑶 𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝑮𝒐𝒅, 𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒖𝒆 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔, 𝒈𝒐𝒅𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔, 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒉, 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆, 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆, 𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔. 𝑭𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒇𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒉, 𝒍𝒂𝒚 𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆, 𝒕𝒐 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒔𝒐 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒔.” 1 Timothy 6:11-12

Action words and verbs simply abound in these passages. 𝑾𝒂𝒊𝒕! 𝑻𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑺𝒆𝒆. 𝑫𝒓𝒂𝒘 𝑵𝒆𝒂𝒓. 𝑹𝒖𝒏! 𝑷𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒖𝒆. 𝑭𝒍𝒆𝒆! 𝑭𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕!

So much of the Word of God requires action on our part.  We cannot just sit, doing nothing, and expect to grow in the knowledge of our God.  Good intentions and good ideas don’t get us anywhere!  Therefore, I love the consistency of our Abba Father, and this is why I so want to be like Him.  If we consistently wait, consistently taste, consistently draw near, we will get to know the LORD and we will see change in our families, our nation, and across the world.

Let’s make this our prayer – “𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋 – 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦, 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘶𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘛𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯!”

When I think about being kissed by the King, I think about just how close you have to be to be kissed.  Face to face.  No distance between you at all.  I think of the scripture “𝑫𝒓𝒂𝒘 𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒅𝒓𝒂𝒘 𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖.” (James 4:8) If you want His kisses, you must draw so close that you are touching, no space, no gap at all.  That’s close!

I remember some time back; the LORD spoke to me and gave me a vision.  In the vision I was sitting on a park bench, I was on one side of the bench and Jesus was on the other.  He said to me, “𝘋𝘳𝘢𝘸 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘳,” so I kind of shuffled along the bench a little bit towards the LORD and He said, “𝘕𝘰, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩, 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘸 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘳.”  So, again I edged along the bench a little more and He said once again, “𝘕𝘰, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘸 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘳.” Your Beloved is inviting you to draw close, really close, close enough to hear His heartbeat, close enough for Him to whisper in your ear. So often we can think we are close, but we are not, we can always draw closer, and then closer again.

And so, I sit here and ask myself, where do I go to be fully wrapped in His embrace, to that place where I breathe in the fragrance of His breath?   How can I be kissed with the kisses of my Beloved?  How can I draw so close to Him that I can see myself reflected in the pupil of His eyes?  The answer is a simple one but often a hard one – 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲!  Time!  A precious commodity and one we seem to have so little of.  We must take the time each day in His Word, worshipping, and talking to our Savior.  Make a date.  Book a time.  Write it in your calendar.  Today I am going to make a date with my Beloved and simply sit, stay, linger, in His presence, at His feet, in His arms.  It is a journey that is Oh so worth it and the more time you spend there the more time you want to spend.  It becomes addictive, moreish, until you just cannot get enough of time spent with the One that loves you endlessly! Do you long to see your Beloved face to face, mouth to mouth? 

The beautiful Holy Spirit is looking for worshippers, 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑 𝑯𝒊𝒎 𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒕𝒉. (John 4:24). Over the years I have grappled with this verse trying to figure out what spirit and truth meant, and, in the process, I missed the worship.  I missed the part where I am called to worship!  I love to dig into the Greek and Hebrew and there I found what it is the Spirit wants.  The word for worship is “𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘬𝘶𝘯𝘦𝘰” taken from two words, one ‘to draw near’ and the other ‘to kiss.’  To come close and kiss. How beautiful is the thought that the yearning of the Holy Spirit is that you would draw so near, so very close that there would be absolutely nothing in between you.  That He would indeed “𝒌𝒊𝒔𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒉!”  Proskuneo also means to fall prostrate at the Kings feet, to bow down in holy reverence, to be in that place of awe and wonderment, to kneel before your God, your creator. 

Let’s make a date with Jesus today, let’s not miss one more day in His presence, one more moment when we can rest in His embrace, one more second where we can be kissed by our King, sitting in His presence, and hearing Him whisper in our ear – “𝗜 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗱!”

It’s the words face to face that really get me though, especially when our desire is to be a Shulamite.  Face to face, gazing straight into our Beloved’s beautiful brown eyes.  I know that when we do, nothing else will matter.  Moses was a man that I envy, he talked to God “𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒌𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅!” (Exodus 33:11) In the Hebrew face to face means ‘𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩.’  We will be that close.  Transforming love bringing us straight into His presence, face to face, mouth to mouth.  When we Let Him, our Beloved will kiss us with the kisses of His mouth.

Have you ever read the Word of God when suddenly a verse became alive, suddenly you knew that the LORD was speaking directly to you?  It almost feels as though it hits you in the heart, you begin to glow.  Then, as if that wasn’t enough, God confirms His Word through someone else, the verse echoes all around you.  God is speaking to you.  In Rabbinical tradition this is called 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗞𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗴!  A kiss from God is that living word, a word that sings in your heart and makes your step a little lighter. 

My thoughts for days have been on how we will see Jesus face to face and the scripture from 1 Corinthians 13:12 had been echoing in my heart.  As I sat down to write this chapter I wondered how to start when an email popped into my inbox.  It was the ‘verse of the day.’  I clicked on it and of course, would you believe it, there I read; “𝑭𝒐𝒓 𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒘𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒎𝒊𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒓, 𝒅𝒊𝒎𝒍𝒚, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆. 𝑵𝒐𝒘 𝑰 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒊𝒏 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑰 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒔 𝑰 𝒂𝒍𝒔𝒐 𝒂𝒎 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒏.”  Wow!  I had literally just been kissed by the King!  It made my heart dance knowing that He was leading me, that someone, somewhere needed to read these words.  Perhaps that’s you?

Did you know that just as much as the Shulamite longed to be kissed by her Beloved, your Beloved longs to kiss you even more?  He longs to shower you with kisses, to speak those living words straight to your heart.  To bring His Word alive.

I think that a whole bible study could be written on this verse alone.  Perhaps there has been.  The thought that my beloved kisses me with the kisses of His mouth is so intimate and tender.  When I get to the part where I trust, when I Let Him, anything can happen.  And it does!  The kisses of the Savior!  Today I pray that you would be “𝗞𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗴,” that His living Word would come alive for you.

“𝑳𝒆𝒕 𝑯𝒊𝒎 𝒌𝒊𝒔𝒔 𝒎𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒉, 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒆.”  Song of Songs 1:1

I long for the day when I shall see my Beloved face to face, when I shall stand before Him and there will be no distance at all.  I will see every little detail of His beautiful face, see His smile, the crinkles at the corners of His eyes.  I will know Him the way He knows me. I will be able to hold His hand, touch His fingers, see the scars in His wrists, knowing He endured the nails for me.  Face to face.  Can you imagine?!  There will be nothing quite like it. 

1 Corinthians 13:12 says; “𝑭𝒐𝒓 𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒘𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒎𝒊𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒓, 𝒅𝒊𝒎𝒍𝒚, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆. 𝑵𝒐𝒘 𝑰 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒊𝒏 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑰 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒔 𝑰 𝒂𝒍𝒔𝒐 𝒂𝒎 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒏.”  Way back in the city of Corinth, even though they were famous for making gorgeous, ornate mirrors, the mirrors they made were hammered out of polished bronze.  The reflection you could see was indistinct, unclear, and even distorted.  All you could make out was a dim reflection.  Sometimes we see Jesus that way, life’s journey distorts our thoughts of what He is really like.  Perceptions and opinions give us an unclear vision of our Beloved.

As a young girl, my father was hard to please, it seemed as though everything I did was not good enough.  Nothing made him smile, nothing made him proud.  Did you have one of those dads?  My perception of my Abba Father became skewed, and I filtered my view of Him through my experiences.  As I looked in the tainted mirror at Father God, I saw a God who was angry, a God who no matter how much time I spent in His Word, in prayer, serving, working, He could never ever be pleased with me!  Oh, how wrong I was!  But it wasn’t until I had my own children that I understood the love of my Father.  

I remember watching my son take his first step – I was so proud.  One little baby step and then down he went!  But he did it, he tried!  Or my daughter when she fed herself with a spoon that first time, now that was a moment. She got the spoon in her mouth but most of those squishy sweet potatoes went all over her face!  But oh, how I praised her, I grinned from ear to ear and couldn’t wait to tell her Dad.  It makes me chuckle even now to think of how proud I was.  That’s your Dad, that’s your Abba Father, proud of everything you do, smiling when you try.

And so, I long for that day, when I will see my Abba Father, see my Jesus, face to face.  No distance between us. The day when I will know Him fully just as I am fully known.  When all those twisted perceptions will be blown away by His smile, by the incredible love in His eyes.

𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗲!  Oh my!  For years I remember my parents telling me about the “Pearce pride.”  A pride that was passed down through British history, from generation to generation and one that, in our family, we could be proud of.  Too proud to ever ask for help, too proud to ever speak of emotions, too proud to ever admit that we may be in pain.  Why on earth would you be proud of that?  My ride with pride began so incredibly young, perhaps a survival response, but a resolve to never cry, to not let people in, and to be tough.  And I was.  At least on the outside! 

Leaving home at seventeen with a determination to be independent, self-sufficient, and unconstrained.  To not let anyone in.  My head held so high, pride in my every step, I didn’t see all the potholes, and oh I stumbled so many times!  So many bad decisions.  What’s that scripture?  “𝑷𝒓𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒆𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒂 𝒇𝒂𝒍𝒍.” (Prov 16:18)  And fall I did, simply because I had to do it my way instead of God’s way.

God’s grace is so incredibly amazing, song after song has been written about it, we all know that we need it, desperately.  But God’s word tells us that He gives more grace to the humble than to the proud.  “𝑶𝒓 𝒅𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒑𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒗𝒂𝒊𝒏, “𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒅𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒖𝒔 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒔 𝒋𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒍𝒚”? 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝑯𝒆 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝑯𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒚𝒔: “𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒅, 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒍𝒆.”  (James 4:5-6) He gives more grace!  My heart longs for rivers of grace to swim in, waterfalls of grace that splash over my head, soaking me in rich, glorious, amazing grace.  Did you see how the Spirit is yearning for us jealously?  He yearns for you!  But how do we get there – how do we become those humble, gentle, content women that the Spirit yearns for?

The absolute truth is this is incredibly easy, our Beloved makes things simple for us and I love that.  I need simple!  1 Peter 5:6-7 says; “𝑯𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒔, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆, 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝑮𝒐𝒅’𝒔 𝒎𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅, 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒖𝒑 𝒊𝒏 𝒅𝒖𝒆 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆.  𝑪𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒙𝒊𝒆𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖.”  If we will take the time to give Him all our anxiety, all our cares, all our worries He will pour out His grace over us in abundance.  We will become like the Shulamite who Lets Him in, has a yielded heart longing for the yearning of her Lover.  Those cares spoken about in this verse are ‘𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘯𝘢’ in the Greek also meaning ‘𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘸𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥.’  When we don’t cast our anxiety upon our Savior we are drawn in every different direction, drawn away from our LORD.  Distracted and unfocused.  Not lifting our face in anticipation of letting the one that we love kiss us.  Lift us up.  Take care of us.  Keep us safe.  Let’s simply come before our Beloved, humble ourselves, and give Him every worry, every concern that churns in our guts drawing us away from Him.  Let’s ‘Let Him’ take those burdens, those anguished thoughts and instead give us more grace.  What a glorious exchange!  What a fantastic deal!

Today I’m going to take those first two words from our Shulamite and ‘Let Him,’ I’m going to yield to His strong, graceful hands and Let Him into every area of my life.  I’m going to say 𝗬𝗘𝗦 to intimacy and 𝗡𝗢 to pride, shame, and fear!  Will you come with me?  I so hope you will!

Then there is that shame.  Wrapped around me like poison ivy.  Sticking, stinging, spreading.  Growing invasively into every little corner of my life and crowding out every good thing my Beloved is whispering.  So invasive!  This is one that needs to be dragged out by the root leaving not even the tiniest piece in place!  Shame, as with Adam and Eve hiding their nakedness with leaves in the garden, makes us want to run and hide.  We can hide behind Netflix, a sarcastic tongue, Facebook, Tik Tok, our phone!  Food, exercise, work, our computer.  Anything to avoid coming face to face with our Beloved and looking into His eyes lest He discovers our shame!

But we know; “𝑯𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒑𝒊𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒄𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒔. 𝑯𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒐 𝒘𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒆. 𝑯𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒐 𝒘𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒅.” (Is 53:5)  This includes every single little poisonous leaf of shame!!!  Forgive me Father.  So complete was His work on the cross that shame was pulled up by the roots and cast as far as the East is from the West! (Psalm 103:12.)  Job 14:15-17 has to be one of my favorite verses when it comes to dealing with shame; “𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒘𝒆𝒓, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒆, 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌. 𝑭𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒈𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒎𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒑𝒔, 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒚 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒔. 𝑴𝒚 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒔 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒑𝒐𝒖𝒄𝒉, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒚 𝒈𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒕.” 

Your Beloved yearns for you because you are indeed His handiwork.  He is not waiting for you to sin so that He can jump on you with punishment but guarding your every step. His adoration and love for you is so perfect that he has sealed up your sin in a bag that can never again be opened and has covered all your guilt.  And it didn’t end there!  He cast those sins, sealed in that bag, as far as the East is from the West! Let Him in dear one, Let Him uproot that shame that has poisoned your love story, Let Him cast that shame away from you and instead come and hide under the shadow of your Bridegroom’s wing, (Ps 17:8) safe and secure in His loving care.  𝗟𝗲𝘁 𝗛𝗶𝗺.

“𝑳𝒆𝒕 𝑯𝒊𝒎 𝒌𝒊𝒔𝒔 𝒎𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒉, 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒆.”  Song of Songs 1:1

I could be stuck here for days – 𝗟𝗲𝘁 𝗛𝗶𝗺.  𝗟𝗲𝘁 𝗛𝗶𝗺. Allow those two words flood over you for just a moment.  𝗟𝗲𝘁 𝗛𝗶𝗺.  What do you think of when you hear those two words?  What do you see?  Our love story begins with two very profound words, 𝗟𝗲𝘁 𝗛𝗶𝗺.  A yielded heart.  Complete submission.  Absolute surrender. The very way into intimacy with the King is to ‘Let Him!’  Let Him into your heart.  Let Him into your life.  Let Him into all those tender, broken places.  Allow Him into those raw and sensitive areas where you said you would never go again.  It is there, when you Let Him, that His love will wash over you like healing waters, restoring your soul.  Restoring those emotions that have been locked up for a lifetime. 

Sometimes it is pain that stops you from allowing the Savior in and sometimes pride.  For so many years I told myself that I was strong, I was tough, I could take it and yes, like Frank Sinatra, “I could do it 𝗺𝘆 𝘄𝗮𝘆!”  Perhaps, it was the pain that prevented me from letting God into all those achy places but there was also an independent spirit.  It took me a long time to realize that when you are independent you cannot be loved, independent means you want to be on your own. I don’t want that.  I want intimacy, I want to be totally dependent on my Beloved.  Knowing that He knows the right way, the best paths, how to make me feel secure and cherished. 

Often, I sit and wonder why I don’t ‘𝗟𝗲𝘁 𝗛𝗶𝗺’ into all those places, why I don’t draw near enough to my Bridegroom to allow Him in.  Is it perhaps fear that He will want me to do something that I don’t want to?  Possibly.  Perhaps shame is still sticking to me like slime from a slug that won’t wash off?  Definitely.  And sometimes perhaps it is just straight, plain, old-fashioned pride, that independent spirit that I can’t quite seem to lose?  Sadly!   When I look at those reasons written plain on the page, I know that the first two are the easiest to deal with, but that pride thing?  That stinks!

When fear comes at me, and I am afraid of what the LORD will ask me to do, it shows me that I don’t know the character of my Beloved well enough.  My Beloved is good, He is kind, He is faithful, longsuffering, He keeps no record of wrongs! My Beloved always protects me, He is not easily angered, and He is Oh, so patient, persevering until the end! (1 Cor 13) 

When I read the words in 1 John 4:18; “𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐 𝒇𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒊𝒏 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒇𝒆𝒂𝒓, 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒇𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒊𝒏𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒑𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒇𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆.”  I know that God’s love is perfect and there is no fear in love!  So why am I afraid that my Glorious LORD will ask me to do something that will do me harm?  The answer is right there in that same verse, fear involves punishment. When we don’t understand God’s perfect love, we remember love through jaded eyes.  Through the eyes of that little girl who knew that if she stepped out of line, even a little, there would be great wrath and frightening punishment.  The little girl who only knew unkind and angry words while longing for the perfect love of a Father. 

That kind of love is only found in our Abba Father – perfect love.  Love that won’t come down on you when you fail but is always proud that you tried.  Love that won’t lash out on a whim because his day was bad, but always, always, looks at you with love in His eyes and a smile on His face.  Always.  Perfect love.  A love that will not punish you.  A love that you don’t need to be afraid of!  Always.  Now I understand His love, I can Let Him in, with the knowledge that whatever my Beloved asks of me will be wrapped up in a bow of precious, perfect love and is the very best thing for me!

I love how Shulamite – in Hebrew, means ‘𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵’ or ‘𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭.’  There is a place of perfect peace knowing that our Beloved loves us completely.  A place where we can simply trust, no matter what life throws at us there is that one constant, and it’s Him, our Bridegroom, our Jesus.  In fact, Shulamite can also mean ‘𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦.’  A contract, a pledge, and a promise that the Great I Am makes with you.  A covenant to bring you peace and not distress, reconciliation and not discord, love and not hate.  His word says, “𝑭𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒅𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒔 𝒃𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅, 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝑴𝒚 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒅𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝒏𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝑴𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒃𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅,” 𝑺𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅, 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒚 𝒐𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖.”  (Isaiah 54:10) I will have mercy on you and my kindness shall NEVER be removed from you!  What a beautiful promise. 

Shulamite also means ‘𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵, 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦, 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦, 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘥.’  This love relationship with your Bridegroom will restore you, you will be made whole again, in Jesus you have found your safe place!  When your Beloved looks at you, He considers you perfect – of course He does, He made you that way!  He is the Artist, and you are His canvas, He is painting a Rembrandt, a Renoir, each stroke absolute genius!  You are His Masterpiece!

I want to be that Shulamite and be wholly restored, completely made new, entirely redeemed!  It comes back to that knowing that I know that I know that I can trust my Beloved, that I am safe with my Beloved.  I want the hallmark of my life to be one of peace, one where people will say she really loved her Jesus!

𝗦𝗼, 𝗹𝗲𝘁’𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿, 𝗹𝗲𝘁’𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗿𝘆, 𝗹𝗲𝘁’𝘀 𝗷𝘂𝗺𝗽 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝗷𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗮 𝗷𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲, 𝗮 𝗷𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗼𝗻𝗴𝘀!

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗦𝗵𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗔𝗻𝘆𝘄𝗮𝘆?

Well, that’s a good question isn’t it!  Sometimes we throw about words with no frame of reference, without ever taking a deep look at what they mean.  Why would I want to be a Shulamite – sounds kind of sketchy or dangerous?

Just the very title of this book says it all – the Song of Songs.  Written by a King – King Solomon, a man who was wise, a man of great stature, wealthy, and loved by all Israel.  1 Kings 4:32 tells us that “𝑯𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒃𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒏𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒊𝒗𝒆.”  But this, the Song of Songs, was the greatest of all those songs, the song above any other song, the greatest of all love stories.  A tale that sings of love, desire, adoration, and affection.  It’s a story of romance, brimming with intimacy – the kind of intimacy where trust and respect abound and expectation peeks around every corner!

Our beautiful young heroine, the Shulamite.  Young, expectant, forthright, and assertive, knowing what she wants and not afraid to grasp hold of love with both hands.  A woman deeply enamored and taken with her betrothed, whose only desire is to be with her bridegroom, wrapped in his embrace.  She longs for his touch, longs for her Beloved to whisper words of adoration in her ear, wants to be so close to him that they are touching all the time.  All she needs to do is reach out and he is there.  He is that close.

That’s what I want, I want to hear the whispers of my Savior, to feel Him cup my chin in His hand and lift my head. (Psalm 3:3) To get lost in His eyes, His gaze, His love.  To be able to close my eyes and reach out knowing that He is right there.  All the time.  I want to draw close to Him and be able to trust that He will draw even closer to me. (James 4:8) I want to sit on a bench in the park right next to my Jesus and for there to be no space at all between us!  Is that what you want too?