Seeking the Presence Beyond the Promise
Song of Solomon 5:6
I opened to my beloved; but my beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone: my soul failed when he spake: I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer.
We have heard that absence makes the heart grow fonder. The same is true of our Lord whom we serve. Although He has promised that He will never leave us nor forsake us, yet at times it seems as if He has withdrawn Himself. There is a difference between His concealed presence and His revealed presence. Even in human relationships, at times we can be in the same room with others, yet feel a million miles away.
The distance we feel between us and the Lord is not actual measurable space, but a distance which is only perceived in the heart and mind. As in our text, we can even hear His voice through His Word, but yet our souls fail for the feelings of distance with which they are flooded. We hear Him, but we don’t see Him. However, we desire more than His voice; we desire His person! We want to feel His warm embrace and know that we are close to Him.
Yet, in His wisdom, He knows we must learn to discern and trust His voice and His Word before we can truly know Him, and so He leaves us from time to time, without really leaving us at all! He’s there in His Word, even when His presence is not revealed! However, one who is truly a man after God’s own heart desires to grow closer and closer to Him! We have His Word, but we desire to see that Word become alive to us. We desire to see His Word made flesh, if you will!
We need to go beyond “precept upon precept, line upon line” into another realm, where we say as Paul the Apostle, “that I may know HIM!” Friend, I believe sometimes God plays “hard to get” in order to build up our appetite for Him! If there’s anyone reading this that’s hungry for God, then you know what I’m talking about. People who are hungry and thirsty for God don’t just want to know more ABOUT Him; they want to know HIM! We don’t want just to memorize another verse, but we want the verse to totally mesmerize us!
We don’t want to just read about the miracles God did for others; we want to experience His power personally in our own lives and in the lives of those around us! I just wonder who else is hungry for God.
~ Pastor Gary Caudill
I opened to my beloved; but my beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone: my soul failed when he spake: I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer.
We have heard that absence makes the heart grow fonder. The same is true of our Lord whom we serve. Although He has promised that He will never leave us nor forsake us, yet at times it seems as if He has withdrawn Himself. There is a difference between His concealed presence and His revealed presence. Even in human relationships, at times we can be in the same room with others, yet feel a million miles away.
The distance we feel between us and the Lord is not actual measurable space, but a distance which is only perceived in the heart and mind. As in our text, we can even hear His voice through His Word, but yet our souls fail for the feelings of distance with which they are flooded. We hear Him, but we don’t see Him. However, we desire more than His voice; we desire His person! We want to feel His warm embrace and know that we are close to Him.
Yet, in His wisdom, He knows we must learn to discern and trust His voice and His Word before we can truly know Him, and so He leaves us from time to time, without really leaving us at all! He’s there in His Word, even when His presence is not revealed! However, one who is truly a man after God’s own heart desires to grow closer and closer to Him! We have His Word, but we desire to see that Word become alive to us. We desire to see His Word made flesh, if you will!
We need to go beyond “precept upon precept, line upon line” into another realm, where we say as Paul the Apostle, “that I may know HIM!” Friend, I believe sometimes God plays “hard to get” in order to build up our appetite for Him! If there’s anyone reading this that’s hungry for God, then you know what I’m talking about. People who are hungry and thirsty for God don’t just want to know more ABOUT Him; they want to know HIM! We don’t want just to memorize another verse, but we want the verse to totally mesmerize us!
We don’t want to just read about the miracles God did for others; we want to experience His power personally in our own lives and in the lives of those around us! I just wonder who else is hungry for God.
~ Pastor Gary Caudill