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

I have striven after for so many years! If there is something else You are going to have to reveal it to me." At that moment I experienced a frightening emptiness. But my Lord knew that it was absolutely necessary. Without realizing it I had simply surrendered it all into His hands for the first time. I had given up my striving.

A very gentle and soft light had been turned on in my heart. The Holy Spirit whispered in my ear, "Everything is all right." An unexplainable peace flooded my soul for the first time. I knew that my Lord's arms were tightly enwrapped about me and He was pleased with me. I fell on my face prostrate on the floor and just worshiped Him, filled with praise! After this, everything became new: His word, His work, my prayer and praise life, and little did I realize it, that this was only the beginning! I began to rest in Him for the first time in my Christian life. By simply surrendering all that I was and had to His hand, I knew that as long as I stayed with that heart attitude I was in His will. I seldom knew what His specific will was for each day, I just knew I was walking in it, in what He planned or allowed into my life that day.

 

THE DEVOTED LIFE: 7:11 - 8:14

 

V.11 "Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field; let us lodge in the villages."

With these words from the bride, the Lord leaps for joy and begins to sing! "The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing." (Zeph. 3:17)!

This is glory, her heart in absolute oneness with the Son and the Father. "And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one." (John 17:22). She wants what He desires. Now she is speaking the words her Beloved had spoken to her much earlier. Remember, He had asked her to go with Him in 2:10. Her mouth is in agreement with His Word. No more backsliding from this point on, praise God! Listen to her heart break forth in singing...

 

 

"So near, so very near to God, I cannot nearer be;

For in the person of His Son I am as near as He.

So dear, so very dear to God, more dearer I cannot be;

The love where with He loves the Son: Such is His love to me!

Why should I ever careful (fearful) be, since such a God is mine?

He watches over me night and day, and tells me 'Mine is Thine.'"

William H. Havergal

 

"...let us go..."

One moment of going it alone is repugnant to her soul. Her decision is to go, but only with Him. The where, how, why and to whom are not important to her, He knows best! It will always, always be "...LET US..."! The Holy Spirit reminds her and us, "...that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform (finish) it until the day of Jesus Christ." (Phil. 1:6).

Oh, if only churches spent much time lifting up Jesus and drawing the young ones after His heart, there would be little pressure needed to get them to go out to the harvest. Lift Jesus up and He will draw. When will the church ever believe and fulfill what Jesus admonished to be done in Mark 14:9? We are all to become Mary’s of Bethany! That is the goal of the Gospel. Mary of Bethany spiritually panted after her Lord and His heart. She was credited with having led many to the Lord (John 11:45). Just like this bride, the trusting, surrendered believer will say, "...let us go...." no matter what the cost! The Holy Spirit speaks to your spirit once again and says, "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." (Phil. 2:13). Is your response..."let us go!"? The joy is knowing just how pleased He is.

 

"...the field(s)...villages...vineyards" (v.12)."

Her only concern is to be with Him in His work. It doesn't make any difference if it is Kenya or Indonesia, Alaska or the city in which she resides. She says, “...let us go to the hungry, hurting, angry, abused, troubled, terrified, depressed and downtrodden.” Her spirit says, "If I am with You what evil can befall me. I will be attacked by the enemy but not defeated for I have this treasure in my earthen vessel and the greatness of His power will always bring the victory (II Cor. 2:14; 3:17; 4:7-17; 12:9-10; Phil. 4:13,19)! I will be filled with Your joy (John 15:11) because I will be filled with Your Spirit. O my love I will be filled with You!" She began making melody in her heart as the Holy Spirit swept over the strings of her soul!

 

Satisfied with Thee, Lord Jesus, I am blest;

Peace which passes understanding, on Thy breast;

No more doubting, no more trembling, Oh, what rest! Oh, what rest!

Occupied with Thee, Lord Jesus, in Thy grace;

All Thy ways and thoughts about me only trace

deeper stories of Thy glories of Thy grace, of Thy grace!

Taken up with Thee, Lord Jesus, I would be;

Finding joy and satisfaction all in Thee;

Thou the nearest and the dearest unto me, unto me!

Miss C. A. Wellesley

 

THESE WORDS CHALLENGE THE CHRISTIAN TO SURRENDER HIS/HER LIFE TO THE LORD!

 

How I praise Thee, precious Savior, that Thy love laid hold of me;

Thou hast saved and cleansed and filled me that I might Thy channel be.

Chorus:

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

flowing through us, Thou canst use us every day and every hour!

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

With no power but as Thou givest graciously with each command. Chorus

Witnessing Thy power to save me, setting free from self and sin;

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

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

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

Mary E. Maxwell

 

V.12 "Let us get up early to the vineyards; let us see if the vine flourish, whether the tender grape appear, and the pomegranates bud forth: there will I give thee my loves."

It is all "let us"! "Let us go...let us lodge...let us get up early...let us see." There is not the slightest hint of an independent spirit here. It is US, US, US! Do you feel her soul’s burning desire and excitement as she says, "Let us get up early..."? This is what happens with a surrendered, spirit-filled believer. "Early" is having the "let's get going now!" attitude, whether it is for prayer, praise or service. This attitude of "early" is found in our Beloved Lord (Mk. 1:35); Abraham (Gen. 21:14; 22:3); Jacob (Gen. 28:18); Moses (Ex. 34:4); Joshua (Josh. 3:1; 6:12; 7:16; 8:10); David (I Sam. 17:20); Hezekiah (II Chr. 29:20); and Mary Magdalene (John 20:1). They rose up early! What about you dear bride of Christ?

 

"...let us see if the vine flourish, whether the tender grape appear..."

The Beloved's face glowed with joy, quietly watching His beautiful bride checking to see if the vine flourished, touching the pomegranates to see if there were buds. Great intenseness filled her eyes as she walked among the plants of His garden. He saw how important they were to her heart. She turned and could see what blessed delight He was having in watching her care for what He so deeply cared for.

O how He loves to see signs of life in the vine! A flourishing vine is one that produces fruit. Jesus is the perfect Vine (John 15:1-6). The exquisite value of the Vine may only be seen in this world through fruit produced in us, the branches, by the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:22,23). The heart and true image of the Vine is displayed in the fruit. Does the Vine flourish because you are an open channel through which His life may flow? This world is a place of deadness, darkness and dreariness. It desperately needs loving, holy, humble, God-fearing fruit bearing branches in the midst of all the thorns and thistles.

May we who are mature in the Lord disciple those who have just been saved; inundate them with the love of Christ. Let us take these very young branches under our wings and protect them. They are like tender grapes and the little foxes will sneak in and try to spoil the life that has begun (2:15)! They first need loving, caring, understanding fellowship. That is exactly what is being provided in this verse, getting close to the vine, touching it to check out the tender grapes. Touching symbolizes spiritual intimacy. You can’t minister from afar off. Surrendered believers must establish loving relationships with the new, tender branches. Having a closeness with them helps the new one in Christ be accountable to someone who really cares! They will feel Jesus' love through the one discipling. It is for the young branch's protection. They do not know how to spiritually care for themselves! We who are into discipleship are not only concerned whether the vine is flourishing but that it will continue to flourish!

So many promising new believers fade away because of a lack of encouragement through example and enlightenment in the "how to's" for daily victory through discipleship. They flourish for a while then disappear into a life of mediocrity. These new lilies get excited about the Lord and His Word, then slowly, O so slowly, this spirit-filled drive and energy begins to be eroded. Why? There are some whom these tender lilies hold in high regard tell them not to go overboard in spiritual things saying, "You need balance. You don't want to become a fanatic!" (as if you can divorce your spiritual life from your daily walk!). They encourage them in everything else but the Lord.

Praise God the bride is in love with the garden and especially the budding branches. These are new believers of every age, culture and nationality. The baby buds desperately need to be nurtured right away! The first desire of a new baby believer is, "the sincere milk of the Word, that ye may grow thereby." (I Pet. 2:2). Someone needs to nurture them. They need to learn to fall in love with Jesus so that they will learn to obey for the right reasons. Jesus said it in John 14:23, "If a man love me, he will keep my Word"! They need to be loved unconditionally by a mentor so they will understand how the Father, Son and Holy Spirit unconditionally love them. As newborn babes (buds) they need to be protected, cared for and warned concerning the enemy who would come and try to seriously harm them. A Bible study only concerning basic church doctrine is not enough. They need a live, mature mentor, in the image of Jesus, showing them the walk of love. Then the doctrinal discipleship will become meaningful. So many think they are doing good because they memorize a few scriptures. How many have made shipwreck of their lives because they only receive church doctrine and a few memory verses?

Then there are those who would put them to work immediately. How sad! Babies don’t go to work right off the bat. They are not equipped for it. Some well meaning leaders will quote Mt. 28:19,29 and Mark 16:15 and rush these new "buds" into service. But no one ever stops to think that these Words by the