Recently, I read through the Song of Solomon (8:17). It tells the red-hot, passionate love story of a king and his new bride—not exactly what you'd expect to read in the Bible, I'm guessing.
What surprised me most about this story was that this lovesick bride urgently warns her girlfriends over and over not to arouse or awaken love until it so desires (until it's time). Why would she want her friends to be so careful when she had found such an incredible gift? I wondered.
For whatever reason, it wasn't the right time. Maybe these women were too young. Maybe the guys they desired weren't worthy of their love. Or maybe the guys just hadn't pursued them yet. Whatever the reason, Song of Solomon explains why the young bride felt so strongly about this: "Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot sweep it away." And as the verse before it says, "It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame."
Can you imagine a blazing forest fire that several rivers worth of water cannot put out? That would be one intense inferno! See, this woman was experiencing the mind-blowing beauty of love and sex as God intended it. Within marriage its heat and intensity was welcomed, but this bride knew that if her friends didn't wait for God's gift of marriage they would get severely burned.
That makes me want to get really serious about not arousing/awakening love. I don't know what arouses/awakens love for you. Maybe it includes hanging posters of hot guys on your bedroom wall or in your locker. For me, it means steering clear of:
- Sitting next to him in close quarters—like at the movie theater
- Lingering in a car talking with him
- Checking out his Facebook page all the time
- Watching chick flicks
- Listening to love songs
- Reading romance novels—even Christian ones
How do you need to get serious about not arousing/awakening love in your life?
"But Paula," you moan, "what do I do if I've already aroused/awakened love?" The only way out I know of is to fall MORE in love with Another! (Yep, I'm talking about God.)
You might start by asking God to help you "Place [Him] like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death" (Song of Sol. 8:6). Begin to build a love relationship with God today that causes that other love such competition that it pales in comparison. Pour out your heart to Him, and listen to Him sing His loving delight over you through His Word.
