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

V.1 "The song of songs, which is Solomon's."

This is the greatest song ever written, for the Holy Spirit, Himself, testifies that this is, "The song of songs...", and rightly so for it is directly from the heart of Jesus the Bridegroom for His bride. May you, dear reader, allow the Spirit of Christ to play the melody of this song upon the strings of your heart and soul. In Ecclesiastes, Solomon writes that he had explored every kind of thing possible which claimed would give satisfaction and meaning to life (Ecc. 2:1-11).

Without the Lord as the purpose for living, then at the end of it all you will come to the terrifying conclusion with Solomon calling your life the "vanity of vanities". Solomon by the Holy Spirit repeated the word "vanity" as a conclusion to life without God over 23 times!

The Lord Jesus Christ said, "Without me you can do nothing." (John 15:5). That is, nothing of value! To please Jesus as the sole purpose of living, your life will go from the "vanity of vanities" to becoming "the song of songs"! The Song of Solomon portrays the heart seeking Jesus the Bridegroom alone for satisfaction.

The Holy Spirit, through Solomon, warns us that seeking after things can never, never satisfy. At the conclusion of Ecclesiastes the Holy Spirit writes, "...fear God and keep His commandments...." I might hear an objection from someone saying, "It is impossible to keep the law!"

Trying to keep the law to merit salvation is absolutely futile (Gal. 2:16; 3:10-13). However, when you are filled with the love of Christ (Rom. 5:5) the "righteousness of the law" will be fulfilled in you by being controlled by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:4). The Holy Spirit declares that "love is the fulfilling of the law" in Rom. 13:10. By love we keep His laws!

It is obviously no accident that Ecclesiastes precedes the Song of Solomon! Fearing God is the beginning of true wisdom in the spiritual life. In you, godly fear will increase spiritual obedience! In you Godly fear will expand your spiritual love for God. I like to express it this way, "I fear to hurt the One I love." TRUE FEAR OF GOD PREPARES YOU TO EXPERIENCE THE SURRENDERED LIFE OF LOVE FOR THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. Meditate on this wonderful subject of "fear" which includes in it worshipful awe or reverence: Prov. 16:6; 19:23; Acts 5:11-12; 10:1-4; Eph. 5:21; I Pet. 1:16-20; 2:17; Rev. 19:2,5,6.

Being filled with a surrendered heart, we are to be imitators of how our God walked on this earth (Eph. 5:1-2). Did you know that Jesus delighted in the fear of the Lord? Read Isa. 11:1-4 which speaks about the coming Messiah. Note especially v. 3. Jesus had to grow in wisdom and stature (Luke 2:52). How did that happen? Read Psa.111:10.

Relying on temporal relationships and things will never truly fulfill you. For a moment you are satisfied but the emptiness within returns. God compares that kind of life to a "broken cistern that holds no water" (Jer.2:13). But when you cry out to God in your emptiness He will fill you! Out of sheer love for Him you will desire to keep His commands - love God and love one another (Deut. 6:5; Lev. 19:18). It will lead you into the fullness of God's love found in this Song.

Dear believer, are you ready to go from the "vanity of vanities" and have Jesus’ love in the Song of Songs played all through your heart? Our wonderful Lord is not looking for perfect believers but a pliable bride who is willing to grow and be changed by Him through His infinite love. Does it not say, "the love of Christ constrains us" (II Cor. 5:14)? My heart is so full right now that I must pray. Join in and...

PRAY WITH ME: "Dear, dear Abba Father, I worship You. Thank You! Thank You! Thank You for bringing me to an end of myself. You broke me and allowed me to see the emptiness of my life as a lukewarm believer. I tried so many other things to find joy, even as Your blood-bought child! Thank You Holy Spirit for not giving up on me. Thank You for filling me with Godly fear. Thank You for Your patience, grace and mercy. The moment I cried out in my emptiness You filled me with a longing for intimacy as I had never experienced before. In these last many years You have transformed me. That yearning for more of You in my life burns more passionately then ever. Even in these last years some deep, deep valleys of suffering have come trying to extinguish it. At times I thought it had happened. But praise Your holy name at those moments there was one set of footprints with a nail scar in each carrying this child of Yours to new heights! Praise You, praise You, praise You dear Lord Jesus for taking this little child through it all and intensifying love’s flame. Abba Father, dear Bridegroom, gentle Holy Spirit I am ready to travel once again through this Song. Fill me Lord! We are going to start walking together with loving hearts bursting with heavenly anticipation and expectation. Make us more like You dear Lord, in Jesus' wonderful name, amen!"

True love is a lifelong growing experience. The surrendered life is best illustrated in this way, when you first fall in love it is all consuming. All you want is to be with that person. You talk about, dream about, write about him/her! The more you get to know him/her, the deeper that love grows. I can truly say this about the relationship I have had with my wife these many years.

I love her so much more now then at the beginning. What I thought was so full in the beginning I now see was only a small drop of love. The same is true with lifelong best friends. The love for them grows deeper and richer as the years pass. So also in the surrendered life to Jesus, as you begin to truly know Him year after year this love will grow and expand as you never dreamed possible! Just be patient and let the Holy Spirit have His way!

Accept circumstances and leave them in the Lord's hand. His love for you will bring you through every time! And your love for Him will absolutely increase! The Spirit of your Bridegroom is now going to sing this love song to your heart! It is one thing for you to sing to the Lord but it is unimaginable that He is going to personally sing this Song to you! Praise God for the wonderment of it all! Join me in asking Him for the full blessing of this Song.

PRAY WITH ME: "Dear Lord I want this song, Your song, to be the only music of my heart. I open my heart in full surrender to You so that it may be permanently etched on my soul. Let this Song of Songs be the melody which You said I would make in my heart as You fill me with the precious Holy Spirit! This will be the beginning of many spiritual melodies placed in my spirit which I will sing unto You my dear Savior (Eph.5:18-19)! Thank You Lord, that You '...put a new song in my mouth, even praise....' (Psa.40:3). Lord, You are my song! Make this song, which is so special to You, real to me. Thank You dear Bridegroom of my heart for the deeper experiencing of Your love which is to come. I now sit beside You to read Your love letter written just for Me. I wait with a holy, intensive expectation to have Your deep thoughts of Your passionate heart revealed to me. In Your name which is above all names, the Lord Jesus Christ! Amen and amen!"

"I am Thine, O Lord, I have heard Thy voice, and it told Thy love to me;

But I long to rise in the arms of faith, and be closer drawn to Thee." Fanny Crosby

The Meeting: 

What could be wrong with the young lady who was such a blessing? She came to know the Lord when she was quite young and became faithful in doing what her spiritual leaders asked of her. I'll call her Ruth in order to identify her in this story. One thing everyone knew, you could count on her!

There were others with her, intimate believers who were loyal to the fellowship. These young ladies (virgins in the Song) became best of friends. They would meet together each week and have a home bible study. There was always the singing, praying, Bible study and then fellowship afterwards. This evening's meeting would never be forgotten. It would be life changing.

Come with me dear reader and eavesdrop on the quiet work of the Holy Spirit in this young lady's life. Little did she know what lay ahead for her and the spiritual transformation yet to come. Unbeknownst to her closest friends, deep unanswered, very troubling questions filled her heart this particular evening.

After a time of talking to one another about all that had been going on in their lives since they last met, it was time to have their weekly devotional bible study. They had been considering Ephesians. The lady of our story displayed an uncharacteristic somber mood. Some of her friends thought that the Lord would use the Bible study to lift her spirit. One of the young ladies chosen the week before to lead the discussion said, "Let's read aloud the passage for study tonight."

"...And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God." (Eph. 5:18-21).

The discussion leader made a few comments about the passage. Others followed with thoughts gleaned while studying it at home. Normally Ruth would offer an occasional comment during sharing time, but tonight, strangely, not a word. Her eyes were riveted on each one who spoke, intently listening to every word.

She was looking for an answer. Then it happened, it all poured out of her at once. "As all of you have studied this passage from Ephesians ahead of time so did I. I read it over and over and realized, to my dismay, I know very little about this filling of the Holy Spirit. I have been troubled in my spirit all week. It won't leave me, it plagues my mind. When I fellowship with other believers I rarely talk about the scriptures. I really don't know anything about making melody in my heart to the Lord. Oh I love Him alright but I know it's not that deep or intense."

"Why is it that unless we are in a Bible study we seldom talk about our Lord? I don't have an answer for that. I've been thinking about this all week. I don't even come close to what this passage is describing about a person filled with the Holy Spirit. I have examined my life the last few days and I don't like what I see. O yes, I go to church. I enjoy the sermons. I find pleasure working with the younger kids in Bible school. The mission trips have been special. And who couldn't enjoy the conferences? But none of these religious activities cause me to experience what is described here in Ephesians."

One of the believers interjected glibly, "Maybe you need to spend more time in prayer? I have some great tapes entitled, 'The Spiritual Woman: Working Harder - Accomplishing More!' I'd be glad to share them with you." Ruth retorted, "I have been faithful to pray almost everyday. I have listened to spiritual tapes periodically about how