Intimacy with GOD by Esher Shoshannah (the unexpected everything txt) 📖

the bride "happened" to be standing near some people who were expressing great concern over a family whose father had lost his job. The bride secretly found out where they lived and anonymously sent $500 special delivery to them. It "happened" to be the exact amount needed to pay the mortgage of their house that month. They were on the verge of losing it. The note inside simply said, “From Jesus!” The fruit of kindness tasted so good to them.

A few months later she learned that a friend of hers lost a husband. The bride spent many nights with her friend caring, comforting and doing all the practical things that needed to be done. The terrible emptiness began to be lifted. The fruit of peace was so needed at that very time. A "peace that passes understanding" miraculously filled her!

On another occasion where the bride worked there was a very irritating co-worker. The bride prayed each day for the situation and the attitude. Then came the unexpected opportunity to do her a kindness. One day that irritating co-worker came and apologized for how badly she had treated the bride. She thanked the bride for being so longsuffering and for the kindness shown her. It gave the bride an opportunity to witness for Christ. The co-worker, who had tasted the bride's fruit of self-control, said, "I don't know how you put up with me. If it were me in your place I would have had a few 'choice' words to say." The bride said a quiet prayer to her Beloved, "Lord, little does she realize how often I was on the verge of 'losing it'. Thank You for Your self-control! Thank You for controlling my words, You sure do keep Your promises (Psa. 19:14)!"

Dear surrendered branch in the Vine, the Bridegroom wants to do the same thing in your garden. The fruit of the Spirit that is produced through total submission. The Holy Spirit will lead people over to your branch. Some will need a taste of joy, others will need to digest some kindness, and still others will need a dose of patience. God will invite them into your life to distribute to them His fruitfulness through you. They in turn will continue to have the Lord do a work in the garden of their heart! As our dear Bridegroom sees it, there is actually only one garden. It is made up of a myriad smaller gardens (I Cor. 10:17). Praise God her soul had become a "watered garden" (Jer. 31:12)! The glorious result was the fruit of faithfulness. She was faithful to pray, read the word, lovingly obedient, patient and faithful to care for others.

Before we travel on into deeper heart revelations of the Bridegroom, notice once again the words "my" in 5:1. As was shared before, all you are and think you have in reality belongs to Him. Don't attempt to hold on to it for selfish reasons. If you do, it will impede the anointing of God's leading and peace in your life. Give back everything in your life to Him: your house, money, time, goals, spouse, children, job, will, emotions, etc.! Surrender what already belongs to Him and see how wonderful the garden of your life will become through His power and care! "The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein." Psa. 24:1.

 

PRAY WITH ME: "O precious Father, move on my garden so that I may experience being filled with all the fullness of Yourself! May the garden of my heart produce all that is good so that You may share it with many who are in great need. I love You and belong to You alone. Take me and mold me as You have planned, for I know it will produce joy unspeakable and give You the glory due Your Name! In the Name of my Beloved, the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen and amen!"

 

PAUSE FOR A MOMENT AND GO TO THE PRAISE LIST AT THE END OF THIS BOOK. SELECT A FEW WORDS OR PHRASES WITH WHICH TO PRAISE YOUR DEAR BRIDEGROOM.

 

 

THE DANGER OF HESITATION WHEN HE CALLS 5:2 – 5:5

AN OVERVIEW OF CHAPTER FIVE: Time now passes since He came into the lovely garden of His bride. The Beloved has been busy out ministering and fellowshipping with other surrendered believers (lilies). He comes to the place where she lives and knocks on the door. At first she hesitates to answer. The bride finally decides to go to the door, but to her great dismay, He had departed. Desperate, she attempts to find Him. She searches in the streets of Jerusalem for Him asking the daughters of Jerusalem if they have seen Him. Not knowing who she is talking about, they ask her to describe Him. As a result, something wonderful happens to her and to them. Immediate deliverance is at hand! She is just a few moments away from His loving arms.

 

Between 5:1 and 5:2 there is a time lapse. The wonderful experiences she and her Beloved received in the garden needed time to be savored. A few days later the Lord knocks on the door of her heart once again. But this time it is for a different reason. He knew that she no longer had a problem of going with Him for she had gone with Him to Amana, Hermon and Shenir. It was now time to test her commitment on the mount of Myrrh and the hill of Frankincense to see if she will go with Him even at an inconvenient time! Notice her restlessness as the bride speaks...

 

V.2 "I sleep, but my heart waketh: it is the voice of my beloved that knocketh, saying, 'Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled: for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of night.'"

There is a warning to us hidden in this verse. She falls asleep after having experienced ultimate joy when all the choice fruit and spices of her garden were accepted by her Beloved. You might ask, “What is wrong with her going to sleep, she had done that before in 2:7 and again in 3:5?" Upon closer examination of the passages in chapters two and three you will notice an important difference. He was present and had directed her to sleep! However, in this verse His words are conspicuously absent!

There is a time for spiritual rest but only when the Lord gives that permission to do so and He will be right there in intimate fellowship to see to it that the sleep is true rest for your soul.

After this wonderful mountaintop experience (4:9 – 5:1) she did what so many do, lean upon the experience rather than keeping focused on the Lord Himself. Yes, we are to absolutely enjoy the blessings. We are never to forget them! There will be times the Holy Spirit will bring them back to our remembrance to be strengthened for a new step of faith. However, the bride here decided to go to sleep not realizing that her Beloved had left. Her sleep was not very restful, for her heart was awake. The Holy Spirit began to disturb the bride’s sleep in order to get her attention. She was uncomfortable and restless! At this point the bride should have inquired of the Spirit, "Is there something wrong? Are you trying to tell me something?"

So often in our Christian walk we begin to unconsciously coast ever so slowly. Spiritually she is coasting! Instead of being out there ministering with Him, moving from grace to grace, glory to glory and blessing to blessing, she is sleeping. Ever so subtle a spirit of dullness has crept into her soul. Her spiritual discernment is being impaired. The voice of her Beloved is becoming less distinct. She is alone! He is away from her. We know this because He comes and knocks on her door.

Jesus longs to have her minister with Him. He knocks on the door of her heart. Praise God for His persistent grace and longing patience with her and with us. Will she open without hesitation? Dear blood-bought one, listen to the voice of your Beloved knocking at your heart’s door, the door over which you had written, "...wither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people..." (Ruth 1:16). Will you respond? Will she? He pleads with her...

 

"...Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled..."

The Beloved Bridegroom, the Lord Jesus Christ, is so polite and courteous. Her heart has been purchased by His blood. He has every right to barge in, yet He still knocks. He will never force you to go with Him in ministering to others. He looks for a heart which will readily respond in love to Him! The implication of His request is that He wants her to leave and go with Him. Her response in v.3 indicates this is what she understood, but she was saying "I don’t want to go out because I will get my feet dirty"!

How could one ever, ever hesitate with such love-filled words? Listen to His pleading, "Open to Me on the basis that I am your kinsman Redeemer ('sister')! Open to Me on the basis that you alone are the bride of My heart ('love'”)! Open to Me on the basis that you still have only eyes for Me alone ('dove')! Open to Me on the basis that your garden is pure ('undefiled')! Open your will fully to Me! Give to Me final and total access to your heart of faith. Step out and see the strength, peace, wonders and fulfillment awaiting you!" Will she rush to open the door of her will "...to Him whom her soul loveth"?

 

"...for my head is filled with dew..."

With the above words drawing at her heart to open to Him, the Beloved adds these words, "my head is filled with dew". He is reassuring her that He is filled with God (Hosea 14:5). He is saying by the reference to the "dew" that God’s favor, His grace, will be with them continually (Prov. 19:12). He is "filled", meaning there is more than enough! Why would she hesitate? Her love is so great for Him, yet she hesitates. O my dear Christian friend, be careful about the "little" hesitations in your life when you definitely know your Lord is prompting and leading you to do something under His guiding anointing!

 

"...and my locks with the drops of night."

Earlier His friends were brought near to her to receive fruit from His garden (5:1). Now He wants to share her fruit with others far away (7:11-12; 8:5). He has been ministering in the night to those who are groping in the darkness. He is asking her to take a step of faith and be led by Him to the hurting, then she will give Him to them for their healing! Do you hear Him saying, "...it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast