“Draw me, we will run after thee…”, Song of Solomon 1:4

Introduction

Jesus is inviting us into a deeper relationship, “Then the angel said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!’ Revelation 19:9” And he added, “These are the true words of God.”. The wedding supper represents a deeper relationship than just being our Savior. He wants us to know him like a bride knows her bridegroom. This is deep relationship. Jesus wants us to voluntarily follow after him. This is the desire of his heart. No forcing into a relationship. You are being called to depth. Do you want to go? You say “I Do” at salvation. If we use the wedding metaphor, salvation is like engagement. The goal is the intimacy of the wedding or marriage supper. Let’s say yes. Call me. Draw me. I will run after you.

He Calls Us Closer with Small Nudges

When we say yes to a deep relationship with Jesus, he progressively calls us closer. How does he do this? Small voices. Small nudges. Small invitations. He then looks to see if we say yes to the small things. Always say yes to him. It will lead us into deeper relationship with Jesus.

Presence is the Person of Jesus

When we yes, his presence increases in and around us. His presence means his person shows up. His presence is him. We will know his thoughts as he knows ours. We become one with Jesus in true intimacy. Regularly tell Holy Spirit, “Draw me closer”. Holy Spirit’s purpose is to do this.

Knowing Him is the Reward

Philippians 3:10 says, “That I may know Him….”. Running after him means you want to know him more than you want anything from him. You want to know his personality, emotions, ways, plans, and history. Seek Jesus to know him above all else and you will be rewarded – with Him. He as a person is enough. Say today, “I want you Jesus.”

Our First Calling is to Him

Each of us has a calling. Multiple callings actually. But our first calling is ‘to Him’. This is what he died for. To be one with you. Before your calling as a spouse, parent, or to the world, make sure that you are taking care of the most important thing. Say, “draw me to you Jesus. I want to know you more than anything or any calling.”

Single Eyed

Matthew 22:14 makes me think, “For many are called, but few are chosen.” What does it mean? There are probably several meanings, but I think this may be one of them. Just because I am saved does not mean I have prepared myself to become Jesus’ bride, to enter into this deep relationship. We must prepare ourselves. There comes a time in every Christian’s life where he makes a firm commitment to be single ‘eyed’. When you do, Holy Spirit prepares us according to Jesus’ desires. Let’s be a part of the growing bridal company that is single eyed together.

To be ‘single eyed’ means we are spiritually hungry. We have come to the place that we have pushed all other desires down so that I want to ‘run after’ Jesus more than any other thing. It means dealing with desires that pull me away.

There are not crowds that are doing this. But as we follow him, the desire for others and their approval fades away. We develop a desire to be seen by Jesus alone. This is becoming single eyed. Having only an eye for our bridegroom Jesus. Other people will think you’re strange. But the satisfaction of knowing him will outweigh any comments from others.

What is Spiritual Hunger?

Spiritual hunger is different than natural hunger. Our bodies tell us when it is time to eat. If we wait to eat, it tells us louder. Spiritual hunger is created by God in us. We naturally don’t hunger after him. This is why the Bride in this Song of Solomon passage called out this way. “Draw me, we will run after thee…” Ask Holy Spirit to increase your desire for a relationship with Jesus. He will do it.

Sit With Him

One way to grow closer to Jesus is to quietly sit before him and say, “I am yours. You are beautiful. You are amazing.” Or whatever comes to your mind. As you sit, think about him, think about the blessings he has brought into your life. Be grateful for how your life is different. This will cause spiritual hunger to be created and grow. Pause for him as a person – his presence.

It is important to take time to sit and seek him. “Blessed is the man who listens to me, Watching daily at my gates, Waiting at my doorposts. For he who finds me finds life And obtains favor from the Lord.” Proverbs 8:34-35. Sometimes, we want to seek him. Often we do not. Our soul likes to seek its own pleasures. We have to train our soul after the pleasure of following God. Ask Holy Spirit for help.

The World Tries to Steal Your Hunger

When we start to hunger after Jesus, things of the world will try to ‘steal’ our hunger. We must be careful to not allow the draw of the world to replace our draw for Jesus. It will happen without you even knowing it if we don’t live close. There are so many things that will temporarily satisfy our hunger, but leave us unfulfilled in the end. Practice the discipline of living close and guard against activities that will siphon off your hunger. Ask Holy Spirit to show you things that siphon off your hunger.

As you get closer to Jesus, a counterintuitive thing happens. You expect your hunger for him will abate. But it doesn’t, you get hungrier. It is the opposite of physical hunger. When you eat, your stomach gets full. When you walk with Jesus, you get spiritually hungrier. When you taste of him, you want more. You experience the depths of Jesus and you want to go deeper. When this happens, you know you are running after him.

How do I Run After Him Faster?

Ask to know him more. He desires our fellowship. He will answer your prayer and create the hunger in you. Revelation 3:20 says, “Look, I’m standing at the door and knocking. If anyone listens to my voice and opens the door, I’ll come in and we’ll eat together.” The eating together is a full meal spending time with one another. It is not a drive through meal. Tell Jesus, “I want a full sit down meal with you.”

Why Do I Feel Incomplete?

You were created to be one with Jesus. When you are not, we feel incomplete. We will wonder why we don’t feel alive. We seek to fulfill the ache in us with other things. But when you run after him, you find the ache fulfilled. We discover why we were created. We understand ourself. We find a purpose for living. The only answer for our world is to run after and sit with him.

Your Sensitivity to Him will Grow

As you learn to walk, sit, and be with him, you will find your sensitivity to his presence growing. It is a great feeling. You will learn to sense his presence and what he is saying to you in greater parts of your day. You will find him in areas of your life that you never felt before. He will become a companion with you in everything you do. You will find that you will rarely experience single because his presence is enough.

One thing we want to grow in is becoming more sensitive and responsive to God speaking. That means to hear his voice and follow immediately. In the midst of a quiet room or a noisy room, we want to hear his voice. In the middle of a peaceful walk or stressful day, we want to notice when he is talking.

Jesus wants to talk to you at a whisper level. He wants to be that close to you. You can have that level of spiritual sensitivity. You can hear him intimately in deep talks. Ask Holy Spirit to increase your sensitivity to hear Jesus’ whispers.

Be a Part of a New Generation of Believers

There is a new generation of believers that are arising in the earth right now. Their cry is 2 Corinthians 3:18 “But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord” Their desire is face to face. They want nothing else. They do not want fame, fortune, or blessings. They’re blessing is to see Jesus unveiled. Unveiled is a reference to the Bride at the wedding altar with no veil before her face as she looks at her Bridegroom. Pray for God to change your desires to accept nothing less than face to face. Everything else is a shadow of his glory. This shadow is powerful. But no shadow is better.

This new generation is arising now. Being only touched by Jesus is not enough for them. Of course, they enjoy his blessings but they want more. Only hearing about Jesus is not enough. They are not satisfied with self help messages or 3 steps to prosperity. They want to know him more. They don’t want just Biblical principles, they want his presence and principles. Their heart groans to be one with him.

Hunger Leads to Maturity

Spiritual hunger is necessary for spiritual maturity. Holy Spirit and the Father are working to prepare us to be Jesus’ Bride. One of the first places He starts is our character. Holy Spirit wants to grow in us all 9 fruits as described in Galatians 5:22. These are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. Why? Jesus walks in these fully so he is getting you to walk like him. Marriage is about oneness in every way. Have you noticed him talking to you about the fruits in your life?

As you yield to the process of Father and Holy Spirit preparing you as a Bride for Jesus, your oneness with Him will grow. It will make all the changes worthwhile. You will look forward to being pruned because you realize you are looking more like him every day. It is not about just doing right. It is about looking like him.

This process of running after Jesus, and becoming single eyed, is called maturity. We often think of maturity as doing right and not wrong. That is an aspect, but the most important part of maturity is developing this maturity of love for Jesus. What is the purpose of doing right if we have not grown in our love with him? As we grow in our love for him, we start automatically doing right. His holiness rubs off on us. We become what we are single eyed on. Let us run.

His Presence Brings Strength and Power

As we let God prune and shape us to look like Jesus, you will find an increase in strength and power. He never takes things from us without giving more back. The more is his character, power, grace, glory, and anointing. It is an exchange where we come out way ahead. It creates a loop, when we give up things; he gives back. This gives us heavenly life we need to live earthly life.

Learning to Submit

A challenge to preparing ourselves to be the Bride of Jesus is learning to submit to Him. It is often a trust issue. We think we can do better for ourselves than Jesus will do. Somewhere along the way, we need a revelation that Jesus’ will for our life is better than anything we could do on our own. It is hard to get there though. I challenge you to jump out and follow him without all these mental calculations of which way is better. He is our Lord. We follow Him simply because He is.

Passion is Good

Are you ever troubled by what others say about your intensity to follow Jesus? Remember, your passion is not the norm and sometimes others can be a hinderance to you. How say? People that are not as passionate as you can try to ‘cool’ you off to match their pace of following him. This can be a real challenge. I advise you to respond lovingly and say, “for me, this is the way I need to go”. No judgment towards them. Let them be them and you be you. Our faithfulness to Jesus is rewarded by increased intimacy.

Sometimes running after Jesus can be a road less traveled. I am talking in terms of people understanding your hunger for Jesus. Many people say they follow Jesus and they often talk about him. But they rarely center on him and run after him. But I would rather be on this journey than in a crowd not knowing him.

Jesus is Looking for Friends

As you get closer to him, you will not see him as simply an all powerful being to whom you pray. But as a divine friend. This is what he wants. He desires fellowship with you as a friend. He wants to love you as a friend. He wants us to love him as a friend. Meditate on this thought and let it get into your heart. It is powerful.

How do I get to this level of walking with him where we are friends? Step upon step. It is not one big step, but many little steps. As you obey him, he learns to trust you and you learn to trust him. It is just like how you develop earthly friendships. Step upon step. So never think that something is too little to obey or too little to follow through on. It all matters in developing trust.

Your Are Not an Employee

Do you think of yourself as an employee of Jesus? Jesus is not looking for employees. He is looking for friends. He wants to share with you at a deeper level than just giving you orders. Can you comprehend he wants to pull you into the fellowship that he is having with his Father and Holy Spirit? Ask Holy Spirit to open your eyes to this dynamic.

We do work with him though. As you draw closer to him you will move with him in ministry as he ministers to others. You will see what he is doing and then help him with that. You won’t ask what he wants you to do, you will learn to see what he is doing and take part with him. I know this is a deep thought. But think about it. This style of ministry is fun, easy, and no performance.

Getting to Giving

As you draw closer to Jesus, your mindset will move from getting from him to giving to him. It is so fulfilling to talk to him, love on him, praise him as a present TO him. He receives it all as gifts of love. It is more satisfying than anything we get from him because we know he is being blessed by it. With this change of direction, you are living as the bride of Jesus.

Walking with Him Involves Reduction

Allow Holy Spirit to prepare you to walk closely with Jesus. There is a process. It is a process of purification, skill training, and sensitivity. It is often a process of reduction. Reducing things in your life. It can be painful. But the glory of Him you will get is always worth it. The sacrifices will seem minimal.

To those who utter this cry of face to face, he will reveal all that is contrary to the mind of God in our hearts. This can be painful, but what is happening is explained in Romans 12:2. “Change the way you think. Then you will always be able to determine what God really wants—what is good, pleasing, and perfect.” (God’s Word Translation). When we run after him, we start to think like him, look like him, and act like him. It is worth all reductions.

You are Handsome

Song of Solomon (SoS) 1:8, “If you do not know, most beautiful of women”. (SoS) is an allegory. At one level, it is talking about Solomon, the earthly king, and his love for the maiden. At another level, it is talking about Jesus, the heavenly king, and his love for us as his church (maiden). Let this verse sink in about you. Jesus thinks you’re beautiful. And for the men, He thinks you’re handsome. The places where the world has messed us up, he is restoring. He sees us from his perspective. This perspective is from the vision of the way he created you, and where you’re going to end up. Say over yourself now how beautiful or handsome you are from Jesus eyes.

In closing, let us run after Jesus!