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You are altogether beautiful, my darling, beautiful in every way. Song of Songs 4:7
I love officiating at weddings. I get a view that few others do. To my left is the groom, who sees his bride coming to him down the aisle dressed like a princess. Traditionally, he has not seen the dress on her (an added plus in my opinion). I get to see his look of love, passion, and awe. Sometimes I even see tears.
I get to see the bride. Every girl dreams of someday being a princess, and today is her chance! She seems to radiate as she walks towards us. Sometimes, there are tears of joy in her eyes as well.
Today, many live together before marriage, and while I don’t think that is God’s best, it doesn’t change the scenario. The groom sees his bride with new eyes.
If 1 Corinthians 13 is the love chapter, Song of Solomon is the ‘love book’. It is really a passionate conversation between a groom and his bride. It’s also symbolic of Jesus (our groom) and his bride (the body of Christ). Song of Solomon 4:7 shows the view Jesus has of his bride…that’s you remember.
The groom writes, “You are altogether beautiful, my darling, beautiful in every way. ” What a stunning reflection of the groom to his bride. He says we are beautiful in every way.
He doesn’t see our sin. He doesn’t see our faults. Because of what Jesus did for you on the cross he only sees the beauty in you. He knows your sin better than you do, but that doesn’t change how he sees you. He loves you just the way you are, yet works in you to help you conquer all the blemishes.
For my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand. John 10:29
In the previous verse Jesus teaches that as our Good Shepherd we are safe in his hands. Now, as he continues His teaching about being our Good Shepherd he gives us further assurance of our security in Him.
We are not only safe because of Jesus power and strength, as our savior, we are safe because we are also in the Father’s hands and He is ‘more powerful than anyone else’. It’s easy here to miss a vital truth. Jesus says ‘no one’ not ‘nothing’.
We struggle with doubt. We struggle with fear. We struggle with anger. We are hurt by the church and hurt by those who don’t believe. But those are all actions from our main enemy, Satan. He will send anything in our way to pull us away from the Father and his eternal promises.
When we are in His hands, none of the tactics of Satan or his evil cohorts can pull us away. You are doubly protected, doubly loved, doubly cared for. Even when we stray away, He knows where we are and seeks us out. There is no reason to fear when the Father is near.
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. John 10:27
Distractions! They sneak up on you without warning. They impede your progress towards your intended goal for the day. They cause you to lose focus. They can lead you down a path you never intended. They can interrupt a perfectly good and productive day.
One of the reasons successful people reach their goals is their ability to remove, or at least work through the distractions of life. For some it’s finding a quiet place to work. For others it’s listening to background music. When they have something to focus on it can remove the effects of distractions.
Distractions are inevitable but they don’t have to be indestructible. Being focused can destroy, or at least minimize the effects of distractions.
Imagine being a sheep in the Middle East during Jesus’ time. At evening several shepherds and their flocks would gather together for safety. In the morning, amidst the noise and clamor of breakfast being made, camp coffee being prepared, sheep waking up from sleep, you hear a voice. Not just any voice. The voice of YOUR shepherd.
You’ve heard other voices but they didn’t affect you. But this voice, the voice of YOUR shepherd stirred you into action. Whatever your activities are today, whatever distractions kept you from finishing your list yesterday, today can be a new start.
Today you can have a new focus. Is your shepherd interested in your list? Of course. Does he want to see you succeed? Definitely! Then ask Him to help you through the distractions that want to hinder your way. He’s interested in every detail.
So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. 2 Corinthians 4:18
It seems like every day we’re met with more and more troubles. Racial tension. Conspiracy theories. Political unrest. Natural disasters. Pandemics. Climate change. Inflation.
When you start to look around, it can really be pretty depressing. It’s no wonder fear and worry and anger and frustration and hatred seem to be rampant.
The apostle Paul encourages us to place our gaze on the things that last forever. All of the struggles we see now will someday go away. But there are some things that we can’t see that will last forever.
The love of God is new every morning. The forgiveness of our sins. The promise of eternal life. A peace the passes all understanding. The presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives as believers in Jesus. What are some other things that will last forever?
Focusing on the things that will last forever makes it easier to endure the things we struggle with that surround us. The things we see are temporary, but the promises of God are eternal.
So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. Galatians 5:16
Many people dream of being able to work from home. No clock to punch, stay in your jammies all day, your schedule on your time. Sounds amazing doesn’t it?
When the pandemic hit, many were forced to work from home and the reality of how hard it is to work from home hit many people. Some were/are successful at it, others? Not so much.
The key to working from home, as I found it, was to treat it like any work day. Get up, get ready as though you were in the office and move on towards productivity. The struggle with working from home is distraction. Too many things that keep us from carrying out our good intentions.
Life can seem like one big rabbit trail at times! Those that found they could work from home learned the importance of being disciplined. They learned to set goals and conquer the desire to do other, more enjoyable things.
What’s true in the work world is true in our spiritual lives. Have you ever talked with God and said something like, “I’m sorry God. I won’t do that again. I’ll be stronger and wiser next time”. Two days later (or earlier for some) you are right back at the same place. Your human desires overcame your spiritual desires. Your passion for pleasure conquered your passion to follow God.
The spiritual life is a battle between human nature and Holy Spirit guidance. The Holy Spirit is sent to be our helper, our guide and our prayer warrior. I love how the Psalmist writes, (my paraphrase of Psalm 119:36) ‘Give me the desire to follow your ways and not the ways of my human nature!”
Too often we strive to be better and work harder at the Christian life, but we were never called on to do that in our own strength. Every day (or as often as necessary) ask Holy Spirit to help you conquer the passions of your heart. Don’t beat yourself up when you fail (and you will!), ask for forgiveness and help to move on!
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 