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Day 93: Seasons of Rest (SoS 2:7)

I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, By the gazelles or by the does of the field, Do not stir up nor awaken love Until it pleases.  

Song of Songs 2:7

Life occurs in seasons. Night and day. Winter, spring, summer and fall. Just as the physical world has seasons, so do our spiritual lives. These seasons are characterized by the type or quantity of activities in them.

Moses after leading Israel oubof Egypt was asked by God to come up to the mountain for forty days. That was when God gave him the ten commandments for Israel and the instructions for the Tabernacle.

John the Baptist was in the wilderness for a long time before his ministry kicked off.

Paul after his conversion spent about two years in Arabia. He said in Galatians 1 that he didn't appear in Jerusalem until three years after his conversion. It was at this time that he received a revelation of the new creation as we read it in his epistles today.

Our Beloved Jesus did not begin His ministry immediately, after baptism He was in the wilderness for forty days and nights.

Our text today is one of the most popular portions of the Song of Songs. The most important lesson we can learn from it is that there are seasons of rest and recuperation in our walk with God. Such seasons must not be interrupted.

There are times when we're on our toes running after Him in service. The joy and delight in giving our time, bodies, and resources to Jesus in service is addictive. Love births zeal and passion so strong we can wear ourselves out without knowing it. However, as He did with the disciples in Mark 6:31, He occasionally draws us away from it for a few days, weeks, months, or even years like Paul. We must learn to recognize seasons of rest.

Rest is not always passive or idle. It's not ceasing fellowship both privately and in congregation. It's a time of increased private, undistracted communion. In those seasons, fellowship in the word and prayer dominate our days and nights. Our focus must be on Him and Him alone. 

I believe the Bride fell asleep in her Beloved's arms. Getting much-needed rest at the moment. The Beloved pleaded with the daughters of Jerusalem to not disturb her. (We'll understand why in the subsequent verses.)

Using gazelles and does, he charged them. Gazelles are antelopes and does are female deers. Both species are prey animals. They are very skittish, easily roused, and frightened. They get unhinged at any slight disturbance in their environment. This tells us something, seasons of rest are very sensitive.

The first example is in Genesis 2. God put Adam to sleep so He could work. In Adam's sleep, God removed his rib and made him a woman to share the burden of His assignment on earth. In seasons of rest, God fashions and aligns us to fit His plans and purposes. We must be resilient because fellow believers may not understand. Family and friends may not understand. But if we allow men to disturb our season of rest, we cut short what the Lord is doing in us.

Psalm 46:10 defines seasons of rest as:

 Be still, and know that I am God...

Seasons of rest don't make sense to us. Our lives seem stagnant but we must trust God's good plan. We must learn to rest in intimacy and find our identity in Him and not in what we can do for Him. Find our identity in Christ and not in the applause of men.

Saul in 1 Samuel 13 was supposed to wait for Samuel to offer sacrifices to God before leading Israel to war. Unfortunately, Saul allowed external pressure to affect him. He disobeyed God and consequences followed.

We must also learn to discern when others are in their seasons. We must not criticize or conclude hastily. Before you speak to believers you think have become complacent or are wasting their lives doing nothing, pray for them. Let your heart align with the Father's. If all you have is criticism, say nothing to them and pray instead.

These seasons usually indicate the end of one phase of intimacy/stage of life with God and the beginning of another. To disturb is to interrupt God at work.

PRAY WITH ME:

Dear Lord, help me recognize seasons of rest. I ask that you will give me the resilience to stand through these seasons. Help my heart trust in You and Your plans for me and extend grace to others in their time. Amen.

REFLECT & ACT:

  • If you are in a season of rest, I urge you to treasure it and not despise it. God is working to give you His best. Meditate constantly on Jeremiah 29:11:

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

  • If you've been through a season of rest, what did God do in you in those seasons?
  • Who around you do you think might be in a season of rest? Take time to pray for them and think of ways to support them.

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