I am my beloved’s, and his desire is for me. Song of Sol. 7:10
Dear Lord Jesus, the Song of Solomon has never been one of the most underlined books in my Bible, but the more I look for you in all the Scriptures (Luke 24:25-27), the more I’m drawn to its profound and provocative imagery. It taps into my deep longings for intimacy, playfulness, passion, and delight—knowing and being known by you.
Indeed, Jesus, you are, ultimately, the great lover of whom this book speaks—the quintessential spouse, the archetypal husband. In our best relational moments, our love for one another is a mere hint and whisper of the way you love us. We are the “beloved” of whom this book speaks—the bride upon whom you have set your endless affections, and for whom you’ve given your very life. No one can fill the vacuum in our hearts, but you.
This isn’t the gospel I grew up with, but this it’s the gospel you announce to our unprepared, unsuspecting, undeserving hearts. To be desired of you, Lord Jesus, is to taste how much you want, pursue, enjoy, see, accept, know, nourish and cherish us. Even as I pray these words, a part of me reacts with the pushback of an unbelieving heart, too-easily-satisfied heart. Free me, Lord, free me.
I know that only the Holy Spirit can enable us to believe and experience these transforming truths, the unparalleled beauty, and the oceans of delight offered in relationship with you—the free riches held out in the gospel.
So I cry out today: come, Holy Spirit, come. Rescue me and my friends from our unbelief; dethrone my false notions of God and the gospel; soften my hard hungry heart. It’s one thing to rest in Jesus’ finished work, but it’s another thing to be alive to his present desire. Do a great work in our hearts, Holy Spirit. Do a fresh work in my heart.
Forgive me, Jesus, for believing that any human being could possibly satisfy the very longings you created in me. Forgive me, Jesus, for assuming I could ever be to someone else what you alone can be to them. Help all of us—the unmarried, the happily married, and the miserably married—to realize that you, Lord Jesus, are the spouse we always wanted and the one to whom we belong. And more importantly, Jesus, help us to believe that you are the Spouse who always wanted us. So very Amen we pray, your peerless and pursing name.