Intimacy with GOD by Esher Shoshannah (e book reading free .txt) 📕

look of infinite, all-consuming love for me! Praise Your holy Name my glorious Bridegroom."

 

O dear surrendered lily, precious, precious rose of the plain, listen carefully and see yourself as your Bridegroom sees you. He takes you, this common, seemingly worthless wild flower and reveals what He truly sees in you by saying...

 

V.2 "As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters."

The "thorn" represents the curse brought on by Adam and Eve through sin (Gen. 3:17-18; Matt. 13:7; Heb. 6:8). This poor old earth has been cursed ever since. There is very little that is beautiful to the Lord. Sin has marred even creation itself. However, He bore the entire curse by wearing the crown of thorns. The earth itself will be changed one day to the perfect place it was intended to be. Praise God! He looks down and sees you dear surrendered believer that you are His lily in the midst of this cursed earth. You are the sweet, fragrant flower of His heart!

He says, "Take a good long look around you. You used to be like one of these ugly thorns (I Cor. 6:9-11)! You are beautiful now and I made you that way. More and more of My beauty is coming forth from you, My little lily, My delicate rose! You are no longer one of the thorns. Thorns bring Me pain but you have been transformed - and O how I love to look at you! This world that I created has turned into a great sorrow to Me. Spiritual, soul and material pollution have swept over all of this planet that at one time I declared to be good (Gen. 1:31)! It deeply hurts and saddens Me, My beautiful lily. But then I see you amidst all of these thorns, possessing a spiritual loveliness that touches My heart so deeply. It is seen when you are praising Me, adoring Me, trusting Me, walking with Me filled with My Spirit. Don't ever think of yourself as a common lily or rose again. Look at yourself in contrast with the ugliness and darkness of the thorns! I love you so much, let Me wipe away that tear from your eye; those doubts from your spirit; the discouragement from your mind!"

You, dear bride are to think highly of yourself! It says so in Rom. 12:3 that a believer is, "...not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think." You are to think highly of yourself without letting it become a thing where you would attempt to get the glory that rightly belongs to Him alone. Who are we? We are an heir of God and a joint heir with Jesus (Rom.8:17). We are the bride of Christ (Rev. 19:7-9; 21:9). We are a holy, royal priest (I Pet. 2:5,9). We have been given authority to rule (Eph. 2:6; Rev. 5:10)! Rejoice, you are somebody very, very special in His eyes!

 

PRAY WITH ME: "Dear, dear Abba Father, I am overwhelmed by Your estimation of me. I fall in worship before You and the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lover of my soul! I am so thankful to You for what I never dreamed possible. Because You have proclaimed it to my spirit from Your Word, then I am able to accept it! O what an amazing God You are. Thank You dear Lord that I will have an eternity to say thanks! In Your wonderful name Lord Jesus, amen!"

 

Praise God, among all the thorns there are lilies. These are true believers who dearly love their Bridegroom - Redeemer. O what joy they bring to Him; set apart for Him; submissive to Him; surrendered to His will; singing His praises. They are part of the "joy that was set before Him" as He endured the cross (Heb. 12:3).

Thank God that He became the curse itself ("thorns") (Gal. 3:13). He didn't just take it, HE BECAME IT! He became everything which His Abba Father abhorred! All the world’s wickedness and evil was compressed into every fiber of His spirit, soul and body! He cried out, "...My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?" (Matt. 27:46) The lake of fire is a place where God does not exist. Our Bridegroom, who bore the whole curse, suffered on the cross without the helping power and presence of His Father and the Holy Spirit. No one on this earth has ever been without the presence of Almighty God, Who Himself is Omnipresent; no one but Jesus, the Son of Man, your Bridegroom, the Beloved of His Father!

The Bride was sickened at the sight of the thorns. She knew that her Beloved had endured all His Father's stored up hate and wrath. He once again whispered to her, "Remember My love, I became all of those thorns! That is what My Father saw in Me as I hung on the cross. You were one of those thorns My beautiful bride! I willingly became all of your thorns (wicked sin nature) because I saw how that ugly thorn would become transformed into My beautiful little lily and rose! I became your hideous image so that you could become My beautiful image (Rom. 8:29)! I took your crown of thorns (John 3:36; Mt. 27:29) so that I might crown you with My lovingkindness (Psa. 103:4). Is there any reason why you should ever doubt My love for you? It hurts Me to see you doubt My love. The hurt that pierces My heart is for you. I can't stand to see you suffering that kind of emotional pain of doubt! I truly love you My precious one. My perfect love for you will always cast out your fear (I John 4:18)!"

How often we believers beat ourselves over the head because we think we are very little in the mind of the Lord. We see ourselves defeated; we focus on our "lack" of talents or gifts because we see so much in others. You have the greatest gift! It is everything that He desires from you. You have had the Holy Spirit pour out all of God's love into your heart (Rom. 5:6). In I Cor. 14:1 He tells you to "pursue it"! Pursue using that gift for His heart and for others!

O my dear Christian friend, let the words of your Beloved sink deep into your heart! You are everything He wants you to be at this moment if your heart is surrendered to Him! You are beautiful to Him! Don't let the enemy crush your spirit with discouragement! Get your eyes off others! Get your eyes off self! Look at His eyes! Your Beloved's eyes are transfixed in love on you. He is extremely pleased with the decision of your heart! Walk with your head high giving Him all the glory knowing you are the special bride of the King of kings!

The Lord not only wants you to enjoy the beauty of the new life He has bestowed upon you, but also wants the world (the cursed thorns) to see Him in you (John 17:21,23)! Think about it, dear lily, the thorns can choke out potential spiritual beauty (Matt. 13:7). But she had such a love for Him while amid the thorns that they could have no effect upon her. And when the supreme moment came for her heart to surrender, there was no thorn on earth that could blur the image of His beauty in her. Can it be said of you that you are a "...lily among thorns..."?

 

PRAY WITH ME: "I love You; I love You; I love You my wonderful Bridegroom. I deserve only to be prostrate at Your feet, yet You gently lift me up and cause me to look into Your love-filled eyes. My heart melts. I am overwhelmed. You became my curse (Gal. 3:13) and freely gave me all the blessings of Abraham (Gal. 3:14,26,28). Instead of the curse of the law, Your blessings are all mine (Deut. 28:1-14; Eph. 1:3). I am complete in You my Love (Col. 2:10). Praise be to Your holy name! I worship You! I adore You! In Your powerful name Lord Jesus, amen."

 

The Bride Replies:

V.3 "As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste."

The bride's eyes are riveted on the One who has captivated her heart. She whispers to Him, "My Beloved, I care not what I am but O how You stand out above all others. You are my purpose for living! You are the unique One, all of my needs are met in You. You are like an apple tree among all the other trees; You refresh me; You sustain me; You feed my heart with the wonder of Your "first love" love. In the past I searched for fulfillment in worldly philosophies, material things, friends, activities, family, and position, but alas, they all failed me and left me in a desperate condition. You came where I was and gently picked me up and gave me life from the tree of Calvary. Yes, my Beloved, the tree of Your suffering will always stand out from among all others. I love You with all of my heart!"

She compares her Beloved to a tree in the forest that stands out above all others. There was a tree in the Garden of Eden that also stood out above all others, the tree of life in the middle of the Garden of Eden. Our foreparents did not take of that beautiful tree (Gen. 2:9). Glory to God, there was another tree that stood in the midst of a garden (John 19:18,41), the tree of Calvary. Praise God for crucifixion! What was a deadly poison to my Lord, became a sweet taste to me when I received the fruit from Calvary's tree!

 

PRAY WITH ME: "I bow my heart to You, O God of Calvary's cross! I humble myself before You, dear Lord Jesus, for You constantly sustain my spirit with the fruit I receive from that tree. I am Your adoring, eternal bride! There has never been anyone like You and never will be!"

 

 "...I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste."

The bride so pleased His heart because she took time to sit under His shadow. She gave up other things to learn of Him and be changed by Him. As a believer she surrendered to "His shadow" and willingly placed herself under it. This is what two of John the Baptist's disciples did when they stood and watched Jesus. John the Baptist instructed them to "Behold the Lamb" and that is exactly what they did. Because of what John's followers observed they went to Jesus and "sat down under His shadow". These two disciples were changed men after that (John 1:35-43).

What was there about His shadow which brought her great delight? She experienced His blessed abiding shelter protecting her (Psa. 91:1) and being hidden in His hand (Isa. 49:2). His help directed her and caused her to rejoice and sing (Psa. 63:7).

With joyous excitement she declares, "Lord, in my heart and spirit I sit next to You and I feel so unafraid and peaceful. O my loving Husband what utter delight You bring to the deep recesses of my heart. Nothing has ever satisfied me before, until I surrendered to Your loving, protecting, reassuring arms. The fruit from Your tree meets my every need, every minute of my life: the fruit of love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and self-control. It is sweet tasting! You have never given me fruit that has a bitter taste. I worship You dear Lord Jesus. Get all the glory from my heart! You alone are the delight of my heart! You make life worth living! I feel so secure enwrapped in Your shadow."

The enemy would try to wear