In this 4 part series, Tom opens up his heart helping us into a more loving relationship with God.

Tom Brock

Most of the time those of us who are Christian people are looking for some sort of an affirmation, of who we are and that the Lord loves and accepts us. We come to meetings hoping to hear or to receive a word that will do just that. It could be a confirmation in the teaching or in the worship. But our real hope is that we will be singled out and touched by the Sprit and have it acknowledged that God is with us, that he loves us and he accepts us. Because of all of our failures and the lack of physical contact with the Lord we long for something of this nature to confirm that our lives our secure in him. Meeting after meeting we are hoping for this experience, but most of the time it doesn't come. This is where we find ourselves in our journey. What do we do? We are disappointed, but we wouldn't dare say anything that would imply that God isn't sufficient or that he wasn't meeting our needs, because that would just reinforce the thought that we were not loved or good enough to receive from him. Plus if we said that, people would say that is why we aren't getting what we are looking for. So what do we do?

In book of Songs of Songs chapter three, we find a story of a woman who is looking for something. It reads that all night long she looked for the one she loved on her bed. She looked but could not find him. So she made a decision that she would get up and go and look for him. Through the streets and squares she searched for the one her heart loved. I think we can learn something here. As we go to meetings or even try on our own to be touched by the Lord, I think most of us are in the receiving mode. Come to me Lord, touch me Lord, here I am Lord. These are the statements that we call out with. But this woman did something different. She decided to go and seek the one she wanted. In the middle of the night she roamed the streets seeking. She wasn't going to give up until she found him. She decided that she would not go to bed frustrated one more time. We should do the same. There has to come a hunger to see change in our lives and not settle for the statuesque. The decisions that our lives can be and will be better in the Lord, and then to do something about it. In 2004 I was watching the Oscars and Steve Martin had a line that really hit me. He was referring to the good looks of the stars and said, "I would do anything to look like that, except eat right and exercise". To me that hits us right where we live. I would do anything to hear God except get up and seek him, or meditate on His word for my life. We want things to come to us, but I believe we will find that the scripture reads: If you seek me you will find me. What has to happen for us to make this change in our thinking and actions? Do we have to wait for disaster or problems to force our hand? It's said that people will not change until the pain of remaining the same supersedes the pain of change. Is this what we want? Do we follow the Lord in such a way that we are forced to do what he wants? I don't think that that is what he had in mind.

In looking at the scripture in Songs of Songs, we find a key phrase. I will get up now and look for the one My Heart Loves. This is the point of motivation. It was her heart; she loved this man and was longing for his touch so much that she couldn't sleep another night without him. Is it possible to have this type of love for the Lord? I believe it is. It isn't a mystery, it's very practical, and if we look at it maybe we can find our way to a closer intimate walk with him.