Think about Jesus presence and being sensitive to His moving in and among us. One of the places I am reading in scripture is through Ezekiel. Chapter 10 is one of the tragic chapters in scripture. Here, after being shown in a vision the abominable practices the people have been engaged in (chapter 9), the Lord shows Ezekiel the departure of the His presence from the temple. The greatest tragedy is not that He left, it is that apart from Ezekiel in a vision, no one noticed! There was a terrible lack of sensitivity to His presence.
We find a similar pattern in the Song of Solomon. The difference here is that there is some awareness but there is still a loss. Think of this as Jesus coming to us but us failing to respond in a timely manner because it is inconvenient.
2 I sleep, but my heart is awake; It is the voice of my beloved! He knocks, saying, “Open for me, my sister, my love, My dove, my perfect one; For my head is covered with dew, My locks with the drops of the night.” 3 I have taken off my robe; How can I put it on again? I have washed my feet; How can I defile them? 4 My beloved put his hand By the latch of the door, And my heart yearned for him. 5 I arose to open for my beloved, And my hands dripped with myrrh, My fingers with liquid myrrh, On the handles of the lock. 6 I opened for my beloved, But my beloved had turned away and was gone. My heart leaped up when he spoke. I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer. Song of Solomon 5:2–6 (NKJV)
In this example the Shulamite is left with a bit of anointing (the oil) but the bridegroom (Jesus) is gone and does not respond to her cries. These examples tell us something about our sensitivity, or lack thereof, to His presence. In Ezekiel the people were busily engaged in idolatry so never noticed when the Lord departed. In the example of the Shulamite, she desired and longed for His presence but responding was an inconvenience and when her desire for Him finally won out over discomfort it was too late!
It is clear from numerous scriptures that Jesus desires an intimate relationship with us. He wants to meet with us, spend time with us and walk with us. Practically He wants to lead us. He is quite capable but we need to learn to respond to His leading when He calls. We need our hearts tuned so that we are sensitive and responsive to His presence and leading. The two passages below express David’s heart and the Lord’s heart. Hosea gives expression to His desire to draw us away and speak to our hearts. David gives expression to the need so seek His ways and a commitment to have a listening heart.
14 “Therefore, behold, I will allure her, Will bring her into the wilderness, And speak comfort to her.” Hosea 2:14 (NKJV)
4 Show me Your ways, O Lord; Teach me Your paths. 5 Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; On You I wait all the day. Psalm 25:4–5 (NKJV)
The Lord desires to be with us, to lead us away from distractions to be alone with Him to get to know His heart. So let’s join David in praying to see and follow and ask Him to create in us hearts that are attuned to His presence throughout the day.
In my next post I will look more practically at the how we can be sensitive and respond to His presence and calling.
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