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

her spiritually exquisite garden and share it with them (5:1). Each of us have been given by the Holy Spirit gifts and talents to be used for the good of others in the body of Christ (Eph. 4:15-16). Our "little" spiritual spice combined with other's spiritual spices cause us, the living temple of the Holy Spirit, the body of Christ, to minister godly love for one another (John 13:35). The Holy Spirit will bring believers next to your branch to receive a particular fruit needed in their lives. As the various spices of love are shared the spiritual body of our Lord becomes more outwardly beautiful. His image is more and more seen in us together.

As we totally surrender our will to Him, all the right spiritual spices will be applied to each daily circumstance. The Holy Spirit will be at work in each situation and most of the time we will be unaware of it. He will make sure that there wil l be: a right word given to renew; a loving touch for compassion; a peaceful look to encourage; a kind deed to show someone in need that God does care; a thoughtful telephone call to lift the spirit; a note of thankfulness to show an appreciative heart; a word of loving correction to one going astray. Read Mt. 25:34-40. It is a beautiful illustration of having the finest of spices in our garden and then be unaware that others were being blessed by them. Because you are so filled with Jesus, ministering to others just happens so naturally without thinking about it.

 

PRAY WITH ME: "Praise You Father that You are the Gardener of my heart (John 15:1). I give You glory that You can take the garden of my heart and produce such wonderful things in it and bring such pleasure to Your beloved Son. Thank You Lord that not only do You get the first fruits from my garden but You share them with others (5:1). Thank You Lord for making me a blessing! In Your powerful name Lord Jesus, amen."

 

V.15 "A fountain of gardens (or a "garden fountain"), a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon."

 

PRAY WITH ME: "O Lord, my Redeemer, my Shepherd, my King, my All, make this verse real in my heart and in my life. O dear precious Father, cause my heart to gush out the rivers of living water and allow all those who touch my life be touched by the presence of the Holy Spirit in my heart (John 7:38,39)! Fill me, fill me, fill me to overflowing so that others may have their parched lives refreshed. O caring Husband, just to have one touched by Your grace and truly make a difference in their life will fill me with eternal thanksgiving. You have commanded, in Eph. 5:18, to be continually filled with the Spirit. O that is my holy desire! I pray in Your name, which is written in bold letters over the door to my heart, Lord Jesus!"

 

In the Greek ''be filled' in Eph.5:18 is in the continual present tense and it is passive voice meaning that it must be done to you. Every day you need to pray, "Fill me Lord with Your Spirit so I may walk in Your ways, in Your wisdom, in Your humility and have fulfilled in me Your blessed will." Keep in mind this is not a feeling you are asking for. But if you are surrendered to Him this filling takes place (see I John 5:14-15 and Mt. 7:7). Praise God, it is not our responsibility to fill ourselves, it is His! He then gets all the glory from the path set out for us that day. For a vessel to be filled it must be emptied. That happens each time we surrender!

A garden fountain is enjoyable to look at and listen to. It has a refreshing sound that can cause one to relax. Out of her garden is the flowing of rivers of living waters. She is Spirit-filled to overflowing! The word "living" is the Hebrew word for "fresh". She has that continual fresh anointing from the Holy Spirit in her heart. Notice that the words "enclosed", "shut up" and "sealed" are no longer mentioned as in v.12. There was the private time with Him alone, but now, the Lord will share the goodness of the garden with others. The order is interesting. First we must be an empty open vessel so that spiritual water may flow through us. I must have the Holy Spirit pour the living waters of His word into my spiritual vessel. Then, as the Holy Spirit directs, the streams of living water begin to flow in refreshment to others. Praise God!

"Streams from Lebanon" presents a beautiful picture of what it means to be a Spirit-filled, fruit-bearing believer. The snow from Lebanon's mountains melts in the spring and flows downward replenishing the land below, not only with water, but with needed minerals to grow healthy crops. Keep in mind that these waters flow without effort! The mountain symbolically is surrendered to receive the heavenly blessing of pure white snow. So also with us, without any human effort, we simply "stand upright" (calamus) in the power of the Holy Spirit on the mountain of God's holiness and allow the pure water of the living word (John 15:3; Eph. 5:25,26) to gently "snow" down upon us. Sometimes we read the Word of God and it seems as if we are receiving nothing from it; that is the "snow" for it just stays there doing nothing (much like the planting of seed which remains dormant for a while). Then at the appropriate time the blessed Holy Spirit, at the request of the Husbandman (the Father), causes the warmth of Jesus' pure light to shine upon that stationary snow and it begins to flow into our heart garden and after having accomplished its purpose, it then flows in blessing to those all around us to the valleys in their daily lives. May the Lord fulfill the prayer of this old hymn in me, "Channels Only".

Emptied that Thou shouldest fill me, a clean vessel in Thy hand;

Thou who boughtest to possess me, in Thy fullness, Lord, come in.

Jesus, fill now with Thy Spirit hearts that full surrender know;

That the streams of living water from our inner man may flow.

Channels only, blessed Master, but with all Thy wondrous power

Flowing through us, Thou canst use us every day and every hour!"  Mary E. Maxwell

 

Before we leave this wonderful verse, meditate for a moment on a previous thought from v.12. Jesus prayed, died, was entombed and rose in a garden! All of us need a garden experience to be truly pleasing to the Lord. In the garden of our heart we need to be devoted to prayer and there, each day, lay down our will and die to self. When little shoots of discouragement, gossip, jealousy, envy and other weeds appear they will easily wither by simply saying, "not my will, but thine be done". Then we will rise up and walk in the abundant life of resurrection power. His image will be stamped on your walk (Rom. 8:29; Phil. 3:10)! For a garden to really be productive and flourish, fertilizers are used. Reckoning yourself to be dead is the spiritual fertilizer of the resurrected life (Rom. 6:11,14). Fertilizer is usually matter that is going to be allowed to decay if it hasn't already. Then it is ready to be used! Don't ever forget that the fertilizer of the resurrected life is the decaying matter of the self-life! He turns the curse into a blessing because the Lord our God loves us (Deut. 23:5)!

To the bride these words (vs.12-15) were absolutely unthinkable, impossible! She had only seen disappointment and defeat! But she knew that it had to be true because her Beloved, who is the truth (John 14:6), said it was so. Satan had tried to blind her eyes from what was really going on in her garden. She now desires more of His beauty. With all of her heart she prays...

 

V.16 "Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits."

She now gladly wants for the "north wind" to blow upon her garden. North winds in Israel were cold, bitter and harsh but necessary in order to fully develop the taste of fruit and the fragrances of spices. Farmers do not harvest the oranges or grapefruit until after the first cold snap so that their taste reaches maximum sweetness. James 1:2 teaches, concerning the blowing of the "north wind" here, to "...count it all joy when ye fall into diverse temptations." (see James 1:3,4 for the wonderful results). The Holy Spirit, who is the wind (John 3:8), allows difficulties to come into Your life. Why? So that you can be used by God to minister to someone else who is going through the exact same hurt you had previously experienced (II Cor. 1:1-4)!

We are called on at times to endure hardness for the Lord (II Tim. 2:3) yet, all the while our garden is being developed to the fullest by these "north winds". The north winds do come (Rom. 5:3-4; 8:35,38) and when they do we just snuggle up into "Abba Father's" arms (Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:6; Mk 14:36) and He takes care of us as they blow (Heb. 4:16)! While His Spirit enwraps us, at the very same moment the Father’s hands are continually working in the garden of our heart (John 15:1). How absolutely beautiful all this is!

We are so afraid of the "north winds", yet in them His power and presence will be felt through those blasts of cold air (I Cor. 10:13; Phil 4:6,7; II Cor. 4:7-17; Heb.13:5-7). Sometimes we bitterly complain about the harsh north winds and then confess the sinful attitude. Better to come through those winds understanding their purpose. It makes it so much easier. We will come through those winds having been lifted up higher than ever before and knowing Him in a way that we could never have known in any other way. Because of what He revealed about Himself to us during those times, Rom. 8:27,31-39 and I Thess. 5:16-18 become very real to us. We praise and worship our Beloved as never before! Mary, Martha and Lazarus knew all about the "north winds" (Luke 10:38-42; John 11) but they ended up with the glorious "south winds" of service, fellowship and victory in John 12:1-6!

Then she asks that the "south winds" be allowed to blow upon her garden. These are the gentle, warm south winds of special revelation (John 14:21; 15:15; 16:13) of God Himself! These are the winds of true Spirit-filled Christian fellowship (Eph. 6:18-19) and winds of ministering to the "household of faith" (Gal.6:10). These are the winds of His powerful presence falling upon us in prayer and meditation of His Word. These are the caring winds reaching out to the lost (Mt. 25:34-40) and the winds of our heart of worship and adoration for Him in the Holy of Holies (our private, intimate time with Him)! "Blow upon us dear Holy Spirit with Your north and south winds of fullness! Breathe them upon us in full surrender of heart!"

Notice very carefully that the "north winds" are first but, praise God, you will always end with the "south winds" if you are entirely surrendered to the Holy Spirit and the Word of God! She is thrilled that so much has been produced in her garden. Her Beloved is pleased that she wants Him to come and receive and be filled with joy. O the joy of giving, especially to the Lord. It is so true that, "...It is more blessed to give than to receive." (Acts 20:35). She speaks the desire of her heart...

 

"...Let my