Focus
Pay attention to the tension in your body. Let go of it and any expectations to do anything other than God’s will today. Prepare yourself to hear God’s word.
Read
3 Upon my bed at night
I sought him whom my soul loves;
I sought him, but found him not;
I called him, but he gave no answer.
2 “I will rise now and go about the city,
in the streets and in the squares;
I will seek him whom my soul loves.”
I sought him, but found him not.
3 The sentinels found me,
as they went about in the city.
“Have you seen him whom my soul loves?”
4 Scarcely had I passed them,
when I found him whom my soul loves.
I held him, and would not let him go
until I brought him into my mother’s house,
and into the chamber of her that conceived me.
5 I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
by the gazelles or the wild does:
do not stir up or awaken love
until it is ready!
Reflect
Our scripture today is of a bride who will stop at nothing to find her groom. She searches everywhere, high and low, all over the city, asking others to help her in the search. When she finally finds him, she won’t let him go. Have you ever lost something incredibly precious to you? Your glasses, your car keys, your debit card…. Or perhaps a pet who had run away. Or even worse, a toddler who got away from you in the department store. You would literally stop at nothing to find him/her.
What an allegory this passage is of God in his relentless pursuit of us: a pursuit that meant sending his only son Jesus to save us. Jesus himself tells us of this type of search in his parables: the parable of the lost sheep, the parable of the lost coin, and the parable of the prodigal son to name a few. It is clear that God values every single one of us, wants to be in relationship with us, and would stop at nothing to make that happen.
The amazing thing I realized this week following Holy Week, is that not only does God pursue me today, but he pursued me last week, too, when I was the one shouting, “Crucify him!” In his abundance of grace, God seeks us in our sinful state when we were still his adversaries. Hallelujah, what a savior!
Pray
Thank you, Lord, for seeking me like this bride sought her groom. But even more, for seeking me when I was lost in sin and not even pursuing a relationship with You. Thank You for sending Your son Jesus to make a way for us to be in relationship, and that You, like the bride, will not let me go. Amen.
Go with God!
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