SEEKING GOD
Song of Songs Chapter 4: 6 (Passion Translation)
“I’ve made up my mind.
Until the darkness disappears and the dawn has fully come,
In spite of shadows and fears,
I will go to the mountaintop with you.……..Yes, I will be your bride.”
God’s love for us as his people is first recognised as “compassion”. He shows us mercy through His Son so we may be “saved” and change from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of His own dear Son; totally different. We perhaps did not understand God’s “passion” for those whom He created in our mother’s womb as a Father bereft. “God so loved the world….”(John 3:16) has both components of truth. The Song of Songs, very skillfully and appropriately re-translated by Brian Simmons into the Passion Translation, really does bring us into the realm of God’s “passion” for His people.
It is a new concept for many that the Father is preparing the church, sometimes referred to as the “Body of Christ”, to become the “Bride of Christ”. This is a clear concept in the Book of Revelation but a verse helpfully translated in the N.L.T, is also helpful:-
2 Corinthians 11:2 (NLT)
“For I am jealous for you with the jealousy of God himself. I promised you as a pure bride to one husband—Christ.”
After 3+ chapters of deep, affectionate, heart-reaching, passionate loving words to the young lady, (here called the Shulamite), given by the “Bridegroom-King” (or Jesus), she responds with the reply in the verse we began with above. Nothing less than love with deeply felt meaning that was surely enough to cause her to say “I’ve made up my mind”. It was an invitation into the unknown for sure. To be what? “Yes, I will be your bride.” How amazing!
It was an upward call to go to highest mountain peak with Jesus. Verse 8 tells us more:-
“Now you are ready, bride of the mountains,
To come with me as we climb
The highest peaks together.
Come with me through the archway of trust.
We will look down
From the crest of the glistening mounts
And from the summit of our sublime sanctuary.”
It was the journey to the throne room of heaven, “the sublime sanctuary”. What we begin to see is a spiritual journey not found in our earthly realm at all. In verse 6 we see the young lady was clear about her lack of holiness or sanctification; yet, she truly could see Jesus, who has placed His righteousness within us, absolutely wants us to “come” fully accepted just as we are – “In spite of shadows and fears”.
Jesus is the “way” to the Father fully to be known in His supernatural realm. Did not Jesus say we would be those who would worship differently?
John 4:23-24 (ANIV)
“Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.
God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."
Our idea of what “in spirit” means is often far too vague and lean. I like what the prophet Isaiah writes about it:-
Isaiah 32:3-4 (ANIV)
“Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed, and the ears of those who hear will listen. The mind of the rash will know and understand, and the stammering tongue will be fluent and clear.”
Here are the 3 main spiritual senses: to see, to hear and to “know” (perceive) and understand. We need to realise that this spiritual, or supernatural realm, is not a new understanding about the Lord. Who did Peter quote at the Pentecost feast? Yes, the prophet Joel:-
Acts 2:17 (ANIV)
“In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.”
Doesn’t that mean the Lord wants us to be able to use our spiritual senses? Well, it may take prayer, even a lot of prayer from the heart, to reach God’s heart. But Jesus promises to be the “way”. He will lead us up that spiritual climb, so to speak. Will you make up your mind to do just that? Another promise from the prophet Jeremiah:-
Jeremiah 29:13 (ANIV)
“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
If the best is in the supernatural spiritual realm is taking us to find “ ….the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3 (ANIV)), surely we must go there. Jesus was on earth receiving His instructions in His heart and mind from the Father in the throne room of heaven. Was He expecting us to follow Him doing less? I think not. How else could we become “… more than conquerors through him who loved us.” (Romans 8:37 (ANIV))
The “Bride of Christ” is not meant to be a weak partner to a ruling powerful King; not at all. What did Jesus say?:-
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you..." (Acts 1:8 (ANIV))
The people in the early church turned the world upside-down because they lived in this way. They knew the passion of God’s love and the power of God’s Holy Spirit working through them because of this supernatural oneness.
Perhaps you would like to discover more too by reading the “Song of Songs”, preferably in the “Passion Translation”.
(Also, recommended reading ~ “The Lost Art of Practicing His Presence” by James Goll)
