We want to know our own personal calling and live effectively for God, but we are surrounded by calls from a noisy world of distractions and demands.
And yet there is one call that we must not miss, and this call grows louder when our idols of comfort and time are stripped away.
This call is one which is always waiting for our response.
The call of our Beloved
My beloved speaks and says to me: “Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away”—(Song of Solomon 2:10 ESV)
This call comes from the One who has called us, has made us righteous before a holy God, and invites us into the enjoyment of relationship with Himself.
And yet, sometimes we forget what that relationship means.
Our Beloved has done the ultimate work on the cross, and by His grace we are saved; and yet, in the today and tomorrow of our lives, He calls for us to come away with Him, to be alone with Him and to pray.
Our salvation has been secured, and yet our daily walk with Him, as we seek to grow in holiness, demands that we spend time alone with our God.
Why do we spend so much time responding to other calls and neglecting this precious call from our Beloved?
Do we long for that time with Him, hidden quietly away?
He stands waiting for us to draw near, to be alone with Him, and yet we tend to run towards others.
When Jesus was on earth
He spent much time alone with His Father.
And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed—(Mark 1:35 ESV).
Away from the crowds, away from the noise, to a desolate place that the world would not recognise as precious.
And yet, to Him, this time with His Father was invaluable. He rose early and carved out precious time to pray.
Forget or Delay
The perfect, spotless Son of God realised the value of this time in prayer, and yet, somehow, we often forget or delay.
How much more should we, as those who are keenly aware of the old man wrestling within us, be getting alone with the Father?
How much more must we spend time listening to Him, realigning our hearts and refocusing our minds on who He is?
Will We, Today
Will we, today, go into our rooms, the Word of God in our hands, shut the door and pray to God the Father who is in secret (Matthew 6:6)?
Though the world does not, will we see the value of, and begin to long for, our times alone with our God?
There is no greater need in our lives than to spend time with the One who has redeemed our souls, the One by whom we will grow in sanctification, the One who calls us into the enjoyment of personal relationship with Him.
Our Beloved calls. Oh, how we need Him. Will we respond?