January 18

TILL HE PLEASE
by Ray Prinzing

"I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please."                    (Song of Solomon 2:4).

There are times which all believers pass through when it seems as if He is veiled from our consciousness, He has hidden Himself, and all of our earnest cries of where art Thou, Lord?" awaken no response.  We search the Word for a quickening, and find none.  We pray, but the words seem so empty.  The storms seem to mount in intensity,  and we are reminded of the record, when Jesus was asleep in the boat, while the great storm raged about Him and His disciples. We would seek to awaken Him, "Master, carest Thou not that we perish?" (Mark 4:38).  It is then this verse from the Song of Solomon comes softly into the heart, "stir not up, nor awake my love, till He please." If only the disciples had waited a little while longer, no doubt He would have arisen in His own time.  Even if He had slept on, would the boat have sunk when He was resting therein? "He said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?" (Mark 4:40).

Methinks that one of the deep processings of God is this "silence of God," and our learning to TRUST AND WAIT, wait without fretting or complaining, but sustained by the knowledge that He is mindful of us, even when He is not pouring in revelation, or flooding us with blessing.

No need to pound the altar, to storm heaven, to press the Spirit into action, to command, demand, and insist that God meet us at our own "timings." We come to that place of surrender where HIS WILL is all that we desire, and if He pleases to remain silent, then what pleases Him pleases us, also.  His ways are best, and His timings are perfect.  This is not an inworking of grace to be taken lightly, nor will it be understood by those who clamor for action, but it is for those who have experienced His inner rest and peace, they know they are HIS, and all is well.