Three Little Words

Wall

Come

*     *    *   

I’ve been studying the Song of Songs lately, and the Lord is drawing me into deeper intimacy with Him. This book of the Bible actually reminds me a lot of Hinds Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard, which my friend Lonna recommended to me last winter, and which was inspirational and instrumental in my decision to come on the World Race. 

In the first chapter of Songs, the Beloved (me) recognizes that she is sinful and needs her Lover (the Lord). She requests food and rest (1:7) which He provides (1:12, 16). She has the fullness of his love, but she is not fully committed to following Him – she hasn’t given her all to Him yet. She would rather lie in bed (2:16), snuggling up with Him forever behind her wall (2:9).

I shared my meditations on these passages with my team during morning devotions, confessing that I, too, tend to prefer to camp out behind a wall, in the land of the familiar and comfortable. Don’t we all, to some degree? 

Obviously, I am not referring entirely to the physical realm. I’m on the World Race, after all. I am a global nomad – I am physically following Jesus on this journey to 11 different countries in 11 months. 

But how well – or how far – have I been following Him spiritually? 

What are the walls in my life? 

I invited my teammates to call me out if ever they notice that I am putting up walls to “protect” and defend myself, refusing to be vulnerable and exposed with them. 

And then I realized that I have put up a wall between me and God. I have only trusted Him so far. I’m actually quite intimidated by Him.  Especially as I learn more about what it means to be really intimate with Him.  Especially as I read His intense love Song.  Everything about Him overwhelms me! 

In my head, I have chosen not to be comfortable – it’s like a World Race motto: “Refuse to be comfortable.”  But I’m getting really uncomfortable as He pushes me into deeper FAITH, urging me to depend on Him completely. 

It’s awesome. 

Even more awesome:  just after I led devotions, my teammate Cara pulled me aside. She asked, “Remember yesterday when I said I had something to tell you?”  Yeah. “Well, I’d been thinking about and praying for you, and God gave me the word wall for you. I didn’t know what that meant, but I wanted to be obedient in passing it on to you, and now it makes sense. Isn’t that cool?!”  Yeah!!

…

The Lover invites the Beloved to “Arise, Come with Me,” (Songs 2:10). Jesus invited his disciples to “Come. Follow me.”  The Lord is inviting me to just trust Him and COME. 

…

So, I was praying and listening to God the other day, and He reminded me of these three little words that He had been giving me lately. 

Wait

Wall

Come

“That’s exactly what I want to know,” I heard Him respond. “Vicki, what are you waiting for?  Let’s knock down that wall so that you can come with me.”