S.S. 2:8-14, “Listen! My beloved!
Behold, he is coming,
Climbing on the mountains,
Leaping on the hills!
My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag.
Behold, he is standing behind our wall,
He is looking through the windows,
He is peering through the lattice.
“My beloved responded and said to me,
‘Arise, my darling, my beautiful one,
And come along.
‘For behold, the winter is past,
The rain is over and gone.
‘The flowers have already appeared in the land;
The time has arrived for pruning
And the voice of the turtledove has been heard in our land.
‘The fig tree has ripened its figs,
And the vines in blossom have given forth their fragrance.
Arise, my darling, my beautiful one,
And come along!’ ”
“O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,
In the secret place of the steep pathway,
Let me see your form,
Let me hear your voice;
For your voice is sweet,
And your form is lovely.”
These verses represent a perpetual rhythm in our journey upward in the Lord. The Lord Jesus is continually moving us from one place to the next in our walk with him. He is forever calling us higher, and deeper. In C.S. Lewis’ words, we are forever being called “further up and further in.” Just when you think you’ve gotten comfortable and think you’ve arrived, it’s time to move again. That line, “The time has arrived for pruning,” is a reminder that with every advance higher, and every encounter is an advance higher, some things have to be let go of if we’re going to make the climb further up and further in. Never forget though, as the enemy challenges you to not be willing to give up so much, no matter how much sacrifice you think may be required of you to ascend the secret place of the steep pathway to encounter Him at a new level, it is nothing compared to the sacrifice He has made in His descent of love to encounter you.
