The teacher’s gift

“What shall we do for our sister      on the day she is spoken for?   If she is a wall,      we will build towers of silver on her. If she is a door,      we will enclose her with panels of cedar.” — Song of Solomon 8:8b-9

As a child, I remember thinking that teachers must love giving tests. As students, of course, we hated them. We hated studying for them and taking tests was no party either. The teacher, on the other hand got to sit back and relax while we sweated out the exam. Then the teacher rewarded those who had obviously listened in class and punish those who hadn’t. What power!

The first time I taught Hebrew school I discovered that wasn’t exactly true. Making the exams was only slightly less annoying then having to grade them! No – tests were not for the sake of the teachers. They were a gift to the students. It gave them confidence when they succeeded and helped them know what they still had to work on.

In the Song of Solomon, King Solomon speaks metaphorically of a little sister who has not yet developed into a mature woman. “What shall we do for our sister on the day she is spoken for?” The verse continues, “If she is a wall, we will build towers of silver on her. If she is a door, we will enclose her with panels of cedar.”

Tradition teaches that this verse is a reference to the patriarch Abraham who began his journey underdeveloped, not yet the spiritual giant that he was to become. God tested him ten times in order to see if he would be a wall or a door. If Abraham were able to withstand the challenges presented before him, then he would become the strong wall upon which the silver tower of the Jewish nation would be built. If, however, he wavered like a door swinging on its hinges, all that would be built on him would be unstable, temporary wooden planks.

Abraham withstood the tests, proving that he was a worthy foundation upon which to build the Jewish nation. More importantly, it was through the testing that he developed into the bastion of strength that he needed to be.

The purpose of challenges in our lives is to forge us into greater people. So embrace your trials and tribulations! It’s the gift of an opportunity for change. Before his ten tests, Abraham had potential for greatness. But it was only after them – and through them –  that he became the father of our faith.

http://www.holylandmoments.org/devotionals/the-teachers-gift

When God comes knocking

“I slept but my heart was awake.      Listen! My beloved is knocking: ‘Open to me, my sister, my darling,      my dove, my flawless one. My head is drenched with dew,      my hair with the dampness of the night’.” — Song of Solomon 5:2

King Solomon writes “I slept but my heart was awake.” How can a person be both asleep and awake at the same time? As you probably guessed, Solomon wasn’t referring to a physical condition; he was referring to a spiritual one. A person can be spiritually asleep, and yet even as they slumber, something deep inside of them remains wide awake. Somewhere deep within there is a feeling of emptiness, discomfort, and restlessness.  Even when the body is asleep, the soul does not experience tranquility.

        “Listen! My beloved is knocking . . . ” Even the deepest sleeper can be awakened. There are times in our lives when we hear the Lord knocking at our door. It can be during times of great joy – like the birth of a child or a marriage. Or it can be at times of great sorrow – like losing a loved one or going through a serious illness.

It can really be any time at all. Sitting underneath the stars or hiking up a great mountain – at some point everyone experiences, however so briefly, what can only be described as the Divine. They are moments of clarity and awe. They are the moments that encourage us to be better and become greater. But more important than those moments themselves are the minutes that follow.

How do you respond when God comes knocking on your door? Do you get up and let Him in? Do you make the changes that you are inspired to make? Sadly, the woman in the Song of Solomon hesitates.  She has just gotten into bed and she doesn’t want to dirty her feet.  Eventually, she decides that getting her feet dusty is a small price to pay for the gift of seeing the love of her life, but by the time she gets to the door, he is already gone.“I opened for my beloved, but my beloved had left; he was gone. My heart sank at his departure” (Song of Solomon 5:6). A moment’s hesitation can lead to a lifetime of regret.

Don’t be that woman.  When God pays you a visit – when you get a flash of inspiration or you are suddenly clear about your path in life – don’t think it over too much. When God is at your doorstep, let Him in!  Let Him into your life and let Him change your life.

http://www.holylandmoments.org/devotionals/when-god-comes-knocking