Being with Him
by Richard Griffiths
In this part of The Song, the lover – the shepherd (representing the Good Shepherd, Jesus), has come to the woman – the bride (representing the Bride of Christ and each follower of Jesus, individually) and is trying to persuade her to come with him. He is saying, ‘I so want to be with you; I long to be close to you; I love you so much; there’s nothing I desire more than to be in your company’.
I read the Bible every day. One morning I felt God saying to me, ‘It’s great that you are studying My word. But are you meeting with Me?’
Most days I look at a website that gives a lot of information about Christian believers and the Church in all the different countries of the world. There’s a little tab to click on that says, ‘I am praying’. I click on it because I do pray. And I felt God say to me, ‘That’s great, but are you meeting with Me?’
I read books to learn more about the scriptures and about Christian ministry. And I felt that God was saying, ‘I’m so glad you are learning all this stuff, but are you meeting with Me?’
He was reminding me that meeting with Him and enjoying intimacy with Him is vital.
Mark 3:14 tells us that Jesus gathered the Twelve Disciples ‘that they might be with Him and that He might send them out’. Being with Him came before being sent out. The parable of the true vine in John 15 tells us repeatedly that fruitfulness is impossible without an intimate relationship with Jesus.
But today’s verse from The Song tells us something else that is just as important. Whenever we come close to Him it gives Him the greatest of pleasure – He just loves it! ‘Let me see your face and hear your voice’, He says. Why? ‘Because your voice is sweet and your face is lovely’.
Sometimes we sing a worship song that includes the words, ‘I’m desperate for You’. Perhaps we are. But He’s just as desperate for us – even more so!
You try to get close to ‘a dove in the clefts of the rock’. Not a chance! Perhaps He’s asking you to stop hiding from Him and to allow Him to come close to you. Is He asking you to step out of your personal comfort zone into the safety of His loving embrace? It will give you an unequalled sense of security. It will nourish your inner being and will make you truly fruitful. But, most of all, it will delight Him beyond measure.
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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