“I slept, but my heart was awake,
when I heard my lover knocking and calling:
“Open to me, my treasure, my darling,
my dove, my perfect one.
My head is drenched with dew,
my hair with the dampness of the night.”
3 But I responded,
“I have taken off my robe.
Should I get dressed again?
I have washed my feet.
Should I get them soiled?”
4 My lover tried to unlatch the door,
and my heart thrilled within me.
5 I jumped up to open the door for my love,
and my hands dripped with perfume.
My fingers dripped with lovely myrrh
as I pulled back the bolt.
6 I opened to my lover,
but he was gone!
My heart sank.”
Song of Solomon 5:2-6, NLT
The young maiden is in her home. She’s already in her bed when she hears her beloved calling out for her. She suddenly hears the door rattling. The lover is trying to unlock the door! The front door is locked and he waits for her to get up and let him enter.
She seems to vacillate. Listening to his pleas moves her, but she is reluctant to get out of bed. She responds with excuses (v. 3) and shows that she is quite unwilling to let him in.
It’s only when he reaches in and tries to unlatch the door that she responds. She jumps up and runs to the door, but she is too late, her beloved is gone. Her moment has passed.
“Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.
Revelation 3:20
Jesus’ love for you keeps Him knocking. He wants entrance to your heart. He keeps knocking because that’s what He does. (Jesus is very faithful that way.)
He is driven by love for your soul. Love is His supreme motivation for His attentiveness.
Perhaps that patience is what makes Him so wonderful. Human beings can be stubborn and we have to get up and respond to the presence of Jesus. We find excuses for not meeting with Him. This strange apathy soon becomes a bigger problem of “spiritual laziness” which pervades one’s life.
Our very growth as disciples comes as a direct response to Jesus’ desire to fellowship with us. It seems everything hinges on our willingness to be with Him. This is a daily tryst and an intimate rendezvous that if missed, (or neglected) becomes a missed opportunity.
I want to emphasize this. Your strength and stability come from your daily contact with Him. As broken-believers we’re often unstable. My bipolar disorder makes me erratic and unsteady much of the time. His strong arms hold me in place. Intimacy is what my soul craves deep down.
“The Lord is close to all who call on him, yes, to all who call on him in truth.”
Psalm 145:18
Broken Believers 