Simply seek Him……….

“O God, do not remain silent.
Do not turn a deaf ear to me.
Do not keep quiet, O God.”   Psalm 83:1 GW

 

There is yet another way in which I may lose the presence of Jesus, one that is difficult to understand and accept, but nevertheless true.

It is the voluntary withdrawal of Jesus Himself.   There are times when He seems to withdraw Himself from us without any discernible reason.   Yet the reason may be suggested in the Song of Solomon, where the Shulammite bride of Solomon complains twice about the absence of her lover.

“I sought him whom my soul loves….but did not find him; I called him, but he did not answer.” (Song of Solomon 3:1)

The bride had done nothing to offend her groom; yet he was gone and could not be found.    She said, “My Beloved had turned away; he was gone!”  And again she sought him and called to him, but he did not answer.   (5:6)   

What is the Lord saying to me here?   “That the love of Jesus to me is discerned in both the partings and the fellowship, in both His presence and His apparent absence.”  

I can understand how His presence enhances the love relationship between us, but how can His absence do so?   Perhaps we will never know all the answers, but His seeming absence sharpens our awareness of Him and crushes the tendency to take Him for granted.

Very few, if any, of the disciples of Jesus enjoy the continual, unbroken realization of His presence and power in their lives.

Many times we call but He does not answer; we seek Him but He withdraws from us.  The reason is not always due to sin, carelessness, or indifference, for sometimes He is hiding His face to make us yearn all the more for Him; His absence should make our love grow sharper and fonder.

If I lose Him for that reason, I must simply seek Him with my whole heart until I find Him again.

I must do as the Shulammite did, “….seek him whom my soul loves” and soon I will be able to say with her, “I found him whom my soul loves.”  (3:2, 4)

“When you look for me, you will find me. When you wholeheartedly seek me,  I will let you find me, declares the Lord……..”  Jer. 29:13-14a  GW