HOW GOD FEELS ABOUT YOU
*this is the introduction to a series on the book ‘the song of solomon’.
Why is it important to know the emotion of God towards humanity, specifically, toward me? Moreover, why does it matter to God that we are acquainted with His affection?
As a child I always desired to please my parents, in fact I am sure it is natural that children desire to know they are doing well and experience the joy of their parents toward them. For girls, usually its the approval of the Father that becomes a primary imparting of confidence in self worth and confidence to grow as a woman, and maybe for Song with their mothers it is similar; to feel the approval of your mother gives confidence in your success as a man.
Growing up I had an amazing earthly father who never made me wonder how I was doing and I always felt loved and favored. Even at times of disappointment or broken promises, I never doubted his love and I never lacked confidence as a growing woman. Knowing that you are loved and accepted is a foundational truth to walking in confidence because it tears down the fog of confusion and identity we can easily get lost in. Perhaps it’s not so much about confidence as it is about clarity.
While my Dad was far from perfect there was rarely a question of whether he loved me. Knowing how someone feels about you, specifically someone with power over you in someway; a parent, a boss, an elder sibling etc., can be critical to the way we perceive ourselves and others around us and especially how we interact with the world we are in. In a way, knowing how someone feels about you can drive you toward freedom, or bondage into the fear of man, of which I have experienced both.
Deepening our intimacy with God should lead us to the truth that Jesus loves us deeply and desires us wholeheartedly. He desired us before we even knew Him, so His love for us can never be dependent on our desire for Him.
If there is one take-a-way from this book, it is that His love is better than anything.
When I think about the desire that is shared equally, not one (the woman or man) being more in love than the other, but equally desiring each other with intensity and correlating that to the Bride of Christ and Christ the Bridegroom, I am both undone that He desires me this intensely and convicted that my fervent love may not be burning as intense as His.
I wish could say that since I came to Christ everything got better in my life and everyday was full of knowing God’s love, but even believers who encounter the Holy Spirit and God’s love in spectacular ways can easily forget His love, how good He is, and how He has been there for us in our lives through different seasons. One moment we can sense His presence and goodness in our life so strong, and the next we can cry out, “God where are you? Are you even listening?”
Throughout the Song of Solomon we see our main character, the Shulamite woman, going up and down like this. We can relate to the need for affirmation and reminders of that affectionate love our Heavenly Father and Bridegroom King has towards us- and it’s ok that we need to be reminded! God knows our human condition and how He fashioned us and formed us and thats why we are often finding ourselves seeking God as if in a treasure hunt, finding Him, wandering our way, finding Him again, and so on.
“Tell me, O you whom my soul loves, where you pasture your flock, where you make it lie down at noon. For why should I [as I think of you] be as a veiled one straying beside the flocks of your companions?”
- SOS 1:7, AMPC
This is God’s design. There is an innate sense inside us to seek and find love. It’s the journey of love that leads to the very heart of God. We find Him everywhere we go, we see Him injected in all that He has created and each trial and pressure in life leads us to see Him and find Him in new light. This is the journey into His heart, the whole sum of our lives.