First is the kind where God reveals Himself to us, by way of an angel, personally, or in some supernatural manner, when we are not actively seeking Him. Such was the case with Saul of Tarsus, an encounter with God was the last thing on his mind as he traveled on the road to Damascus.

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The second form of an encounter with God is when we are actively seeking Him and some way or another He let’s us find Him. I believe the book of Song of Solomon has a wealth of information into the how to, of seeking a personal encounter with God. Let us look at the two different types of encounters and see if we can learn from this present lesson how to find favor with the Lord, and encounter His presence in a way that brings a life changing experience to us that results in our betterment.

 

In the first type of encounter, God reveals Himself to a person for a specific purpose or reason. In Paul’s case it was for his conversion and called to future ministry, in other cases it could be for the protection of an individual, maybe to keep them from crossing a line from which there is no return. My first encounter with the physical manifestation of the presence of God was to keep me from making such a mistake.

 

I was in a small boat fleeing the communist regime in Cuba in the Florida straights in August 1965, I brought two friends with me who were hiding under the small bow of the boat. We were hit by a strong tempest (chuvasco) and swamped by towering waves to the point that I thought the end of my life was at hand, as we were verily making it through that frontal line of menacing clouds in the middle of the night, we were almost struck by a cargo ship that was sailing in the middle of the storm.

 

After seeing our SOS the cargo ship stopped to recue us, thinking they had hit us, we’ve maneuvered to the side of the cargo ship, by the hanged net they laid on the side of the ship in order for us to climb aboard the ship and out of the tempestuous sea. As my hand took hold of the net, an invisible man that was standing next to me told me to ask where they were going, I looked up to those who were waiting for us at the top of the net and asked them where were they going, something that you normally would not do when being rescued, it was a natural reaction to a supernatural prompting, the immediate answer came with an oriental accent; we are going to Havana! As if the net was charged with thousands of volts of electricity, my hand let go of it, and we sailed away as fast and as far as we could from that Chinese cargo ship that was headed to Havana, where we would have certainly been delivered into one of Castro’s many prisons.

 

By next afternoon we encountered an island named Cay Sal and were spotted by a US navy plane that pointed us to that island, as soon as we knew that we were going to make it, the invisible man, an angel from the Lord, left, and in that instance all three of us looked at each other and wondered out loud, how is it that we were behaving as if there were four of us, when there is only three? All three of us knew he was there, we all felt his presence, I heard his voice, and we knew immediately when he left, yet we never saw him, neither did we comprehend his presence until after he departed.

 

That evening a British warship picked us up from the island and took us to Port Everglades Florida, where we were welcome as refugees.

 

I often pondered why did God do that miracle when none of us were even saved, and the only conclusion that I can come up with is that, had it not been for His sovereign intervention that night we would not have been able to fulfill God’s plan and destiny for our lives. I am sure that all of us will one day find out the countless times when the Lord intervened on our behalf, for the battles that God’s angels fight for us is a constant one.

 

In the first type of encounter God is making sure that His plans for the individual’s life is not altered, so that the nature of the encounter is more functional in nature than personal, not so in the second type of encounter, for this encounter is very personal in nature, where God responds to those who seek to have a deeper, more personal relationship with Him. 

 

By night on my bed, I sought the one I love.

 

It is not easy to position ourselves properly in order to have the  opportunity of having the experience of a personal encounter with the Lord, such experiences are just as precious as they are rare, but our desire of them speaks volumes of how real and deep our love for Him is.

 

What is it that is on our minds when we suddenly awake in the middle of the night, before the cares of this life come rushing in? The Shulamite, a type for the church in this story, wakes up longing for a personal encounter with the love of her life and then she decides to do something about it; she says, I will rise now and go about the city, obviously she is looking for Him.

 

This is a sign for those of us who personally desire to have a life changing encounter with the Lord deep within our hearts, if suddenly we wake up in the middle of the night longing for Him, in response to that longing, we should get up and seek Him fervently in prayer.

 

In the streets and in the squares, I will seek the one I love.

 

The word for streets in the Hebrew has the idea of as run over something, almost like a bridge, from its root word that means to run after or over to something. The idea behind the word for streets is that of, we have to cross over, in our case it would imply that we have to cross over into the spiritual realm as we seek an encounter with our Lord, by putting all our physical limitations and suppositions behind us.

 

The word translated squares literally means broad way or broad place, from its root word that means to broaden or to make wide. To seek the encounter with the One we love we must be willing to cross over into the spiritual realm, and in order to do this we have to widen or broaden our perspective of how the spiritual realm operates. We have to be willing to negate the perceived limitations that hinder us from entering into His presence and not be dissuaded from apparent failures. As the Shulamite says twice in our opening verses, I sought him, but I did not find him.

 

Song of Solomon 3:3 “The watchman who go about the city found me; I said, ‘Have you seen the one I love?’”

 

If the city is symbolic of the spiritual realm where she went searching for the one she loves, then the watchman is symbolic of the angels that police the spiritual realm, notice how she handled her encounter with them: Have you seen the one I love? She was not hesitant at all, she was determined in her commitment to find the one she loved.

 

Song of Solomon 3:4 “Scarcely had I passed by them, when I found the one I love. I held him and would not let him go, until I had brought him to the house of my mother, and into the chamber (room) of her who conceived me.”

 

This is an interesting insight into what drove her desire for an encounter with the one she loved. In the natural she was saying I want you to meet my mother, if you are in the dating stage of your life I do not have to tell you what that means, for you know that she means business once she asks you to meet her mother, what that means is that she is definitely serious about your relationship with her.

 

But from the spiritual aspect, I looked at the words here that state, the chamber of her who conceived me. I think that this is a reference to the inner rooms of the heart, meaning that her goal all along was for this spiritual encounter to bring her Savior into the inner chambers of her heart, where spiritual conception takes place, she wanted to experience her loved one in a way that she had never experienced him before.

 

Proverbs 20:27 “The spirit of a man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all the inner depths (literally: inner rooms of the belly) of his heart.”

 

The difference then, between our first and second types of spiritual encounter is, that in the first type angels or watchers intervene on behalf of those whose destiny is threaten by the mischievousness of the devil against them.

 

In the second type of encounter there is nothing that the angels can do, for in this type of encounter the human heart is the issue, and only God is qualified to deal with the issues of the heart, and He will never intrude into the human heart unless He is first, personally invited, and second, we make special preparations within us that will make Him feel welcome.

 

Step number one:

 

Song of Solomon 4:1 “Behold, you are fair, my love! Behold you are fair! You have dove’s eyes behind your veil (the curtain that covers the door that leads into our hearts). Your hair (covering) is like a flock of goats, going down from Mount Gilead.”

 

The dove is the symbol for the Holy Spirit, and the veil represents the door to the inner rooms of our hearts, typified by the curtain that covers the entrance to the Holy of Holies in God’s Tabernacle. That means that we have to be born again, born of the Spirit of God if we want to experience this type of encounter with Jesus deep within our hearts, because that is where the Holy Spirit resides after we are born again, deep within our hearts.

 

Step number two:

 

Our covering, symbolized by the hair, has to be in place by being a part of the flock, the church, which is the body of Christ. Some believers are not properly covered because their pastors are in direct disobedience to the Word of God, hence they are not properly covered by their fellowship, which makes it a lot more difficult for them to have an experience of true intimacy with the Lord, especially when their leaders are proclaiming a different gospel that portrays another Jesus and a different spirit which they have not received.

 

2 Corinthians 11:4 “For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted—you may well put up with it (but the Lord will not).”

 

In these matters we have to be very careful, for no church is perfect, but if you cannot tell the difference between your church and the world, then all your striving for a spiritual encounter with the real Jesus may be for naught. But remember this, never leave a fellowship to which you were called unless the Lord Himself calls you out of it first, and make sure that He confirms it before you act, that way you will not lose your true covering no matter where He leads you, for He will be your covering and your protection wherever you go.

 

Step number three:

 

Song of Solomon 4:2 “Your teeth are like a flock of shorn sheep which have come up from the washing, every one of which bears twins, and none is barren (bereaved) among them.”

 

Our teeth represent the condition of the human soul, which is designed to reflect the Fruit of the Spirit of love who lives within us, which are: Love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, kindness, faithfulness, meekness, and self-control, for against these there is no law. We need to make sure that none of these qualities are lacking within us, for they adorn our inner man and make us to be more attractive to the Lord. Since we love and desire intimacy with Him we should desire to be more presentable: Which have come up from the washing. After all no body likes bad breath.

 

1 Peter 1:9 “Receiving the end (goal) of your faith—the salvation of your souls.”

 

We can find many allegories in the book of Song of Solomon to help prepare us for a life changing experience with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But let us make sure that our desire for intimacy always flows out of a grateful heart that knows the hell from which He has delivered us, having a sincere desire for true intimacy with Him should trump everything else.

 

The results of such a spiritual encounter should be that of us becoming more fruitful in every aspect of both our spiritual and physical walk with Him.

 

Amen!