I Can See Clearly Now
Arise, my darling.
Come away, my beautiful one.
For now the winter is past;
the rain has ended and gone away.
The blossoms appear in the countryside.
The time of singing has come,
and the turtledove’s cooing is heard in our land.
The fig tree ripens its figs;
the blossoming vines give off their fragrance.
Arise, my darling.
Come away, my beautiful one.
Come away, my beautiful one.
For now the winter is past;
the rain has ended and gone away.
The blossoms appear in the countryside.
The time of singing has come,
and the turtledove’s cooing is heard in our land.
The fig tree ripens its figs;
the blossoming vines give off their fragrance.
Arise, my darling.
Come away, my beautiful one.
-Song of Songs 2:10-13
I can see things clearer now. Did the Lord heal me? Did I do something? Or did the season change? Yes.
What if the 'move of God' in your life is a simple sight adjustment, like focusing a lens? What if the move of God for you is more about you seeing God and knowing God sees you? What if the move of God was about the atmosphere having changed in your present time and then you living differently, because you now see?
When I was thinking about this poetic idea of, "I can see clearly now, the rain is gone". I thought about the stories of when Jesus healing various blind people. And then I looked at Jesus word, to remove the logs from our own eyes, so that we can see.
We can see clearly after we take the impediments to seeing out of our eyes. Those 'blinders' are things like bigotry, sectarianism, racism, classism and judgmentalism. What if we began to see life through love?
What if we got an upgraded ability to see ourselves as loved by God and then began loving ourselves and loving others and seeing others through the love of Christ?
We can see clearly after we take the impediments to seeing out of our eyes. Those 'blinders' are things like bigotry, sectarianism, racism, classism and judgmentalism. What if we began to see life through love?
What if we got an upgraded ability to see ourselves as loved by God and then began loving ourselves and loving others and seeing others through the love of Christ?
The Bible is filled with stories, with object lessons about seeing. Seeing has to do with sight and understanding. Our hearts and minds impair what we can see and Paul even makes the statement that non-believers have been blinded by the god of this age.
There is a saying, "This too will pass", that is said to someone that is in the middle of a loss or a struggle or a challenging situation. It is a word that is comforting to hear or read.
Every winter ends and turns into spring. We crossed over, into the season of Spring, ten days ago. It is funny that Saint Patrick's Day is three days before spring. On the friday of Saint Patrick's day, we went through a weekend of season change and came out in spring on Monday.
The winter has past, it is behind us. The rain was good for the land, but it made it hard to see and get around. The rains finished and ended and now there is green everywhere.
The air is cleaner and sweeter, because of all the plant life. All of the wildlife is out and about as well, beginning to enjoy the springtime.
The change that has happened is that heaven is closer to earth. Neither moved, but is is about, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven," We now are living in more heaven on earth.
God has not taken us somewhere new or brought new things to us. God has changed the atmosphere, here and now, where we live today. And we can see and experience life differently now, because of what God has none.
If you have been waiting for something or for God to do something, God says, "now is the time". God is saying that now is the time when He is changing your life's atmosphere, so that you can see Him. We first have to begin to live in seeing the Lord and then the rest will fall into place.
Every person has secret and not so secret needs and wants, requests, wishes, desires and unfulfilled dreams; that God is fully aware of. Our Father is a good father and takes good care of us. I remember running into a close friend, who was unemployed and then underemployed and he said this exact thing. Today, he is fully employed.
You might know this, but God is more concerned with how we are on the inside, in our hearts. And our hearts affect our minds. God has always been after the transformation of our hearts.
God has changed the atmosphere, just like how the seasons have just changed, so that we can see and live differently. Do you remember that moment in The Wizard of Oz movie, when it goes from black and white to color? That is what God is doing,
The purpose of the change that God has brought on, is so that we can be closer to Him. When you are closer to Him, He will either make your dreams come true or He will change your dreams, and both are good.
For me, personally; I have a good list of dreams, requests, desires and wishes. And I know that God: My Father, My Lord Jesus and The Holy Spirit are intimately aware of these. I also know that what they want to do in my life, to me and through me; is bigger and more wonderful that my lists and even my imagining that reaches beyond my cognitive abilities.
What I see God doing now, is giving us vision to see more clearly: To see God and to see that God sees me and to see all of the circumstances in my life with God. I previously knew all this was possible and wanted it in my life, while I was calling out and longing for my dreams, requests, desires and wishes to be granted.
And this is what Song of Songs 2 is about. We can absolutely learn things about our romantic relationship with our spouse in Song of Songs. But the main point of the book is Jesus Christ and His Bride.
Here is what Brian Simmons writes in his introduction to his translation of Song of Songs:
There is a saying, "This too will pass", that is said to someone that is in the middle of a loss or a struggle or a challenging situation. It is a word that is comforting to hear or read.
Every winter ends and turns into spring. We crossed over, into the season of Spring, ten days ago. It is funny that Saint Patrick's Day is three days before spring. On the friday of Saint Patrick's day, we went through a weekend of season change and came out in spring on Monday.
The winter has past, it is behind us. The rain was good for the land, but it made it hard to see and get around. The rains finished and ended and now there is green everywhere.
The air is cleaner and sweeter, because of all the plant life. All of the wildlife is out and about as well, beginning to enjoy the springtime.
The change that has happened is that heaven is closer to earth. Neither moved, but is is about, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven," We now are living in more heaven on earth.
God has not taken us somewhere new or brought new things to us. God has changed the atmosphere, here and now, where we live today. And we can see and experience life differently now, because of what God has none.
If you have been waiting for something or for God to do something, God says, "now is the time". God is saying that now is the time when He is changing your life's atmosphere, so that you can see Him. We first have to begin to live in seeing the Lord and then the rest will fall into place.
Every person has secret and not so secret needs and wants, requests, wishes, desires and unfulfilled dreams; that God is fully aware of. Our Father is a good father and takes good care of us. I remember running into a close friend, who was unemployed and then underemployed and he said this exact thing. Today, he is fully employed.
You might know this, but God is more concerned with how we are on the inside, in our hearts. And our hearts affect our minds. God has always been after the transformation of our hearts.
God has changed the atmosphere, just like how the seasons have just changed, so that we can see and live differently. Do you remember that moment in The Wizard of Oz movie, when it goes from black and white to color? That is what God is doing,
The purpose of the change that God has brought on, is so that we can be closer to Him. When you are closer to Him, He will either make your dreams come true or He will change your dreams, and both are good.
For me, personally; I have a good list of dreams, requests, desires and wishes. And I know that God: My Father, My Lord Jesus and The Holy Spirit are intimately aware of these. I also know that what they want to do in my life, to me and through me; is bigger and more wonderful that my lists and even my imagining that reaches beyond my cognitive abilities.
What I see God doing now, is giving us vision to see more clearly: To see God and to see that God sees me and to see all of the circumstances in my life with God. I previously knew all this was possible and wanted it in my life, while I was calling out and longing for my dreams, requests, desires and wishes to be granted.
And this is what Song of Songs 2 is about. We can absolutely learn things about our romantic relationship with our spouse in Song of Songs. But the main point of the book is Jesus Christ and His Bride.
Here is what Brian Simmons writes in his introduction to his translation of Song of Songs:
The divine poem embedded in this romantic book tells the story of our journey of divine romance as bride of the Bridegroom-King, Jesus Christ. It speaks of the journey every longing lover of Jesus will find as his or her very own. (TPT, Song of Songs, p,10)Here is what Winn Griffin wrote, in his, 'About Song of Songs: Romantic Love', page in his book, God's Epic Adventure (p. 139-40):
Its interpretive history is intriguing. It has been read and understood in many different ways over the centuries. Very few, if any would have interpreted the book as God's sex manual within marriage in the middle ages. To do so would have caused excommunication. Today it is most commonly interpreted as a book about the erotic passion between spouses...
...The Song of Songs does not appear to be an allegorical or typological message through which one can view God. It does however, appear to be a bold presentation on the wholesomeness and biblical balance of the extremes of sexual excess and asceticism...
...While God is never mentioned by name in the Song, the book teaches by inference, using the marriage metaphor, that God and Israel have a marriage covenant which promises exclusive allegiance to God and does not allow Israel to commit adultery against God by sleeping with other gods.And here is what G. Llyoyd Carr wrote in his book on The Song of Solomon (p. 23-4):
The assumption that the Song is purely allegorical has been widespread amongst English-speaking evangelicals for many generations. Their devotional writing on the Song has sometimes been of a high order, but that does not, of course, settle the question whether their basic approach is true to the text itself. The recently published comment of the renown Reformed theologian, the late Professor John Murray, provides an admirable summary of the general difficulties raised in this approach: 'I cannot now endorse the allegorical interpretation of the Song of Solomon. I think the vagaries of interpretation given in terms of the allegorical principal indicate that there are no well-defined hermeneutical canons to guide us in determining the precise meaning and application to guide us in determining the precise meaning and application if we adopt the allegorical view. However, I also think that in terms of the biblical analogy the Song could be used to illustrate the relation of Christ and the church. If the Song portrays marital love and relationship on the highest levels of exercise and devotion, then surely it may be used to exemplify what is transcendently true in the bond that exists between Christ and the church. One would have to avoid a great deal of the arbitrary and indeed fanciful interpretations to which the allegorical view leads and which it would demand.'
I believe The Song of Songs is both a book that informs us about God's design and plan for erotic and romantic passion and devotion between married spouses, and a book about the divine romance between Christ and his people, the church, His bride.
In the garden of our lives, we see Christ, who is calling us to come away with him. We have been waiting for and wanting him to come and bring something to us. But He calls to us and makes a way for us, to come to Him.
The atmospheric, season change, is making it possible to see and be closer the God. God comes in Jesus and draws us to His heart and leads us out into life, our lives and into the world, with Him.
He is saying, "Now is the time". He is saying that it is a new day and new season and a new beginning. A fresh start is here, if we will take Him up on the offer.
He has come to set us free and end our barrenness. He has come to bring us out of hiding. Jesus wants to cleanse us and bring us into union with Him for life and His purpose.
The time of sadness and a loss for words has past and it is now a time for singing. He has put a new song in our hearts and we will sing it.
Our day of destiny is breaking out all around us. To be with Him and walk in Him and know Him has always been our destiny and we are walking into it now, because He has changed the season and transformed the atmosphere, so that we can now see clearly.
In the garden of our lives, we see Christ, who is calling us to come away with him. We have been waiting for and wanting him to come and bring something to us. But He calls to us and makes a way for us, to come to Him.
The atmospheric, season change, is making it possible to see and be closer the God. God comes in Jesus and draws us to His heart and leads us out into life, our lives and into the world, with Him.
He is saying, "Now is the time". He is saying that it is a new day and new season and a new beginning. A fresh start is here, if we will take Him up on the offer.
He has come to set us free and end our barrenness. He has come to bring us out of hiding. Jesus wants to cleanse us and bring us into union with Him for life and His purpose.
The time of sadness and a loss for words has past and it is now a time for singing. He has put a new song in our hearts and we will sing it.
Our day of destiny is breaking out all around us. To be with Him and walk in Him and know Him has always been our destiny and we are walking into it now, because He has changed the season and transformed the atmosphere, so that we can now see clearly.
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