Come away with me
Written by Ali Baxter | 15th January 2022
Can you hear the tenderness and longing in those words? King Solomon said these words to his future wife and Jesus said them to his disciples on more than one occasion and in different ways. In the Old Testament God took Elijah to a cave, Moses up a mountain and Joseph to a prison cell but it was all about teaching them more about Him and about themselves.
Take a moment, close your eyes and listen to those words, spoken quietly,
whispered in your ear….. just for you.
‘Come Away with Me’
Where would he take you?
What would you do together?
Would it be an adventure?
Would it be a quiet place?
What would you talk about?
Would you just rest with Him?
Would you laugh, dance, play, run together, cry together?
What would you ask of him?
Would you fall to your knees and worship him?
An Invitation..
When we hear it in this way, it is an invitation and not a command to spend time with Jesus and we are of course by default, spending time with Father and Holy Spirit too! The invitation to have time in the presence of God has never been withdrawn from us. It began in The Garden and only sin got in the way, even then God still turned up but those he had created and loved declined the offer of time with him. Sin no longer gets in the way! There is always an RSVP at the end of God’s invitation.
Our RSVP…
So, as you heard those words whispered in your ear, what was your response?
If you echoed Samuel’s word with immediate effect and said ‘Yes Lord, I’m listening. I’m here and ready for you’ or ‘In a bit Lord, I can be with you at 4pm’…it doesn’t really matter! We may think it does and we might even begin that self-condemnation journey of just not being disciplined in time management and priorities…but let’s just put that where it belongs, in the ‘RUBBISH’ bin of lies!
The disciples were never too far away from Jesus. They were always in relationship with him, and they shared every aspect of life together, but Jesus modelled to them those ‘come away’ moments and often asked those he loved to join him. His Father was always with him, and the Holy Spirit never left him, but he still worked quality time away with his Father, into what at times looked like a very busy and pressured schedule. Sound familiar? We all understand that a relationship of quality needs the investment of time.
So, whether in that ‘come away’ moment you had the freedom to say an immediate ‘Yes, here I am’ or you took a minute to schedule in some time with Him, both are important and both are significant to your relationship with Him. So however you answered, the only question left is….’What can that look like for me?
Let’s Do this!
Put time aside. With such busy schedules sometimes, we may actually need to put it in the diary, just like you would book a lunch date or an exercise slot, book it in and don’t let anything else take its place. Ask others to honour that in your home and even help you to do it (you can always reciprocate!). Close the door or take yourself off somewhere.
Think about how God has uniquely made you, what makes you receptive. Do you visualise things easily, does creation, an outdoor space work for you, do you love sounds and music, can you be quiet and still easily? What helps you quieten your heart and mind and whatever that looks like, put that in place in your time slot. Breathe gently and slowly. I like to say the name ‘Jesus’ for a few minutes, quietly and gently as I breathe slowly in and out. ‘Be still and know that I am God’
Praise & Worship. Praise is thanking God for what He has done, worship is our acknowledgment of who He is. Ponder on this…
‘Praise until worship comes, worship until the Glory comes,
then stand in the Glory!’
Ruth Hefflin
What’s going on? Take a look at the questions we began with. Ask some of them, what’s happening, what would you like to happen and what is He asking of you.
Remember the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the one who helps us with our identity and leads us into a deeper relationship with the Father and Jesus. It may be that in this place, the gifts of the Spirit start to flow. Ask for them too! Are there some you ‘eagerly desire’? Prophecy; remember you can already hear God because you are his child, you are tuned into the heavenly frequency. Even if you are in doubt, take note of what you are sensing or hearing. You can always reflect back on it later and decide if it was right for you or for someone else. Trust your identity as a child of God.
What do you see, hear, think or feel? You may find that you lean more towards one of these things to receive. That’s because you are unique and God will relate to you in the way he has made you.
The Tent of Meeting. Read Exodus 33 v 7-1. The tent of meeting was a place of encounter for Moses and it was so phenomenal that the Israelites stopped all that they were doing and watched as Moses entered it. In that place he could ask God anything. Try saying ‘I am going to the tent of meeting to inquire of the Lord’. Then do a prophetic action of walking to a part of the room that has no distractions. Try imagining what that place may look like, a place just to meet with God, a place just for you and Him. What would you ask him? What does he want to say to you?
Try out some of these things and journal what happens…..Share with us some of your encounters in these spaces and places for the presence of God.
Enjoy!