Not Now
by Richard Griffiths
I find this one of the saddest verses in the bible. It’s been winter. The Shulammite – the young woman in the Song of Songs – has been enjoying the comfort of home: shutters closed and a nice, warm fire. She doesn’t seem to have noticed that summer has come, a new season. But the shepherd, her lover, has noticed; and he has come knocking at her door. He tells her all about the beauties of the new season: blossoming flowers, singing birds.
What’s she doing indoors at such a time? Besides, it’s time to begin tending vineyards and gardens. ‘Arise, come my darling, my beautiful one, come with me’ (Song of Songs 2:13). In fact, more than anything else, he wants her company. And what does she say? ‘Turn, my lover’. He does. He goes. And when she realises what has happened, she is devastated!
A new season in our lives can be very challenging. We’ve become used to ‘winter’, a time when not much seems to be happening in our Christian life. There’s nothing wrong with this kind of season. In the natural world, times of dormancy are also times of regeneration in preparation for growth and fruitfulness. But they’re not forever. One day, Jesus will come and knock at our door, saying, “It’s time for us to do something new together. Come with Me”.
Actually, it’s a daily challenge. There’s always going to be something new. And the issue is not, will Jesus come with me, but, how willing am I to go with Him? We can so easily fail to understand something that the Shulammite also didn’t grasp. She said, in effect, “I’m staying here in the safety of my home because I know you want me to come with you over the rugged mountains”.
What she didn’t really believe was that ‘rugged mountains’ with him were far safer than the four walls of her home without him. What’s more, so long as she stays at home, she won’t enjoy the flowers and the singing of the birds, her vineyard won’t produce a good crop because of neglect; and she’s depriving him of what he most wants – her company.
To be truly fruitful and fulfilled, we need, each day, to be going with Jesus where He leads us, knowing that, with Him, we’re in the best of all places, in the safest of all places, and giving Him the greatest delight.
Richard Griffiths When Richard retired from full-time Anglican ministry in Chichester in 2009, he and his wife, Sue, moved to Northumberland. He joined the ministry team at Ellel Grange in 2011, where he and Sue regularly ministered at healing retreats. They are now helping on the "Explore" team. They greatly enjoy walking in the beautiful Northumberland countryside and along the coast. Richard loves seeing God bringing people into a strong personal relationship with Him as their Father and the healing that comes with it.
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