Come Away with me....


Take me away with you—let us hurry!

Song of Solomon Chapter 1:4


I recently celebrated another year of marriage with my lover, friend, and husband of five years. This year we decided to get away for a day at a local bed and breakfast. We could only be away one day due to our other weighty responsibilities but we hoped it would be enough to let us relax and decompress from the past year.


The very second I stepped foot in our private cottage, I noticed a difference; an exhale.


There is something so healing and restorative about changing our surroundings. New rooms, new smells, new experiences ignite our imagination and our intimacy.


Jewish tradition mandated that during the betrothal time, a woman would ready herself while the man readied their new home. Then, in a triumphal procession he would come, unexpectedly, and take his bride away with him, away to their new home, away from everything she knew and loved to forge a brand new life together. Alone and in foreign surroundings intimacy was created for the new couple.


I believe this same principle applies to our relationship with God. Entrenched in the daily drudge of life, our familiar surroundings and experiences can drown out God's voice. Sometimes it takes tearing away the distractions of our old surroundings to help us go deeper with God.


Song of Solomon is not only about two lovers but also about our relationship with God. Not once in Song of Solomon did the lovers stay in the same place. Their surroundings constantly changed as one lover pursued the other.


Stale spirituality is the enemy to true intimacy with God. He longs to be pursued and to pursue you. He longs to take you to new heights and places in your relationship with Him. He is the Lover reaching out His hand to say "Come away with me..."


Will you go?

Comments

Popular Posts