I have written about this in the past but it has been a continual thought recently, especially in light of the drastic changes being forced on the church and our country. All of us are facing personal issues that are the result of actions being taken at the highest level of the government; the identical issues are facing our brothers and sisters in Canada. In light of all these pressures that are impacting us and generating uncertainty in so many areas, I wanted to revisit this subject once again as an encouragement to all of us that in the midst of this the Lord is always here, waiting for us with the answers …
One of the most beautiful parts of Solomon’s Song is the bride’s realization that it’s not about who she is, what she’s done, or what she’s been through. It’s all about her relationship with Solomon. She wants him to draw her near and he is continually calling her to grow close. The problem is that wanting something and pursuing it are two different things.
We can learn a great deal about this struggle as we watch Solomon’s bride discover how to put action to her desires. She learns that the secret to her relationship with Solomon is to spend time with Him in his garden. That’s the answer for us if we truly want to draw close to Jesus and develop the kind of relationship that Solomon’s bride realized.
To fully understand this concept, we need to go back to the beginning. In The Garden everything was perfection and Adam and Eve walked in perfect harmony with God. But sin destroyed that relationship and they were banned from The Garden. God could not allow them to eat of the tree of life and live forever in their fallen condition. They didn’t want to leave His presence so He had to drive them out and place an angel with a flaming sword at the gate to keep them from coming back, and that angel stood at His post until the “defining moment” in history. When Jesus cried out on the Cross it is finished, it meant much more than His death. For our purpose here, realize that there was no longer the need for the angel to guard the entrance to The Garden, the gate was thrown wide open and man was given a way back to God.
I learned something along my journey that changed my entire perspective concerning my relationship with Jesus. The Garden of Eden is just as close as my next heartbeat. By accepting His sacrifice for my sins and receiving the Holy Spirit He has opened up a garden in my heart where He wants to spend time with me. Our life here on earth can be filled with all the blessings of heaven; they’re all waiting for us in our garden. All we have to do is spend the time with Him and be obedient to His word.
We need to stop and meditate on that. Jesus is waiting for you in your own garden—His garden—where He’s placed a bench for two. And the incredible thing is that anytime we want to go there He is there waiting for us with the answers we need.