Listen, my radiant one–

If you ever lose sight of me

Just follow in my footsteps where I lead my lovers.

Come with your burdens and cares.

Come to the place near the sanctuary of my shepherds—

there you will find me (Song of Solomon 1:8 TPT).

What do you do when Jesus feels distant? The Shepherd tells the Shulamite in Song of  Songs what to do. He advises her to come near Him and His undershepherds. 

But first, focus on how Jesus addresses her. She has neglected her private life in God and is feeling discouraged and distant from Him. She has been busy serving others in the church, neglecting her own life in the Spirit (her own garden vineyard). In verse seven she asked Him a question … where do you feed your flock? She was asking … where do I find you, Lord?

Have you ever asked that? Where are you, Jesus? 

I have.

She was a wandering woman who was crying out for Jesus to take away her shame.

Maybe you are not in that place, but perhaps you just want to feel loved this Valentines Day.

Listen, my radiant one … 

Jesus calls us His radiant ones. Bask in that a minute. 

While she is immature, He calls her radiant, lovely, dearest one, my lover-friend.

He knows our garden isn’t being kept and that we serve Him at a distance; however, we are still radiant to Him. Jesus calls us radiant even in the midst of our disorientation and failure. 

We may despise ourselves, but we are radiant to Him. 

It was her cry to Him that made her radiant in His sight. Jesus does not define us by the unkempt inner life (vineyard) we display, but by the budding virtues inside us, yet to grow to fullness. Jesus does not just see our sinful struggle, He sees our seeking heart! How kind this Shepherd! We are safe with a friend like this one. 

We must see ourselves in the process of becoming a look-alike partner of the Son of God. Today, Jesus sees you as fully perfected. He does not see your hypocrisy or double-mindedness. He has purposely limited His own vision so as to place our sins as far from Him as the east is from the west. You are washed clean and perfected.

“Dwelling in the consciousness of His adoration over my beauty is the thing that continually draws my heart into His life.” –Brian Simmons

Jesus does not want us to settle for spiritually dull lives in God or write ourselves off as hopeless hypocrites.

Jesus wants us to pray this prayer “Feed my heart like you used to, Lord. I feel like there is a veil between us at times like I am loving you from a distance. My inner life has weeds in it. Things have gone wrong. Help me this day and come close to me. I need to touch you, Jesus, and encounter Your love. Let me know You call me Your radiant one, Your sweetheart and Your lovely friend. I want to soak in Your words today, ‘Listen, My radiant one.’ Continue Your work in my heart until radiance shines through my doubts and my discouragement. I take Your words as strength and life. Amen” 

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Credit for this post goes to Brian and Candice Simmons. It is an excerpt from pages 36-40 of The Sacred Journey, God’s Relentless Pursuit of Our Affection.  I am rereading this book for the fourth time because I cannot get enough of the treasure that is Song of Songs. I highly recommend it! 

Categories: Books God's Love Love Song of Songs Valentines Day

Tagged as: Dr Brian Simmons God's Valentine love love love of God Song of Solomon Song of Songs Song of Songs 1:8 The Passion Translation The Sacred Journey book Valentines Day when Jesus feels distant

Kathryne

Christian author and inspirational speaker of truth that makes the darkness tremble. Author of two non-fiction books at https://linktr.ee/TattooedKing