"Who is this coming up from the wilderness leaning on her beloved?" - Song of Songs 8:5 (NIV)
The following write-up is adapted from the sermon "Leaning On The Beloved" as preached by Rev Bobby Chaw at City Harvest Church on 5 November 2022.
How do you bring yourself out of your wilderness or barrenness?
As gleaned from Song of Songs 8:5, you can do so by leaning on God, your Beloved One.
You would know that you are leaning on your Beloved when:
1. You are Surrendered to Jesus.
2. You are Joined to Jesus.
3. You Delight in Jesus.
To surrender means to to stop resisting and give oneself up to the power of another. Are you surrendered to Jesus? Are your attitudes compatible with the Holy Spirit? It is not a one-time event but a process of being transformed into a person who loves the Word of God and the Person of God. "And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. (1 John 4:16; NIV)"
Consider John who went from "son of thunder" to the disciple who leaned on Jesus' bosom, and assigned by Jesus at the Cross to care for His mother.
Being joined with Jesus means abiding in Him like a branch that is intertwined with the Vine (John 15). Matthew (aka Levi) left his tax collector position and followed Jesus wholly. Notably, the Gospel by Matthew contains many parables concerning the Kingdom of God and is the only gospel that contains the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus, my life is not my own; may it be to me according to your Word.
"“Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. (Mark 10:29-30; NIV)"
Your presence makes God more than happy; He rejoices over you (Zephaniah 3:17). Does God's Presence make you happy? Absolutely. "You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. (Psalm 16:11; NIV)"
May you find that spending time with God such as reading His Word is a pleasure and delight, and not a chore. "but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers. (Psalm 1:2-3; NIV)"
Be truly Blessed as you leaned on your Beloved and come out from your wilderness.
