Do Not Awaken Love, Until The Time Is Right

Song of Solomon 3:1-5
“On my bed by night I sought him whom my soul loves;
I sought him but found him not.
I will rise now and go about the city,
in the streets and in the squares;
I will seek him whom my soul loves.
I sought him, but found him not.
The watchmen found me
as they went about in the city
“Have you seen him whom my soul loves?”
Scarcely had I passed them
when I found him whom my soul loves.
I held him, and would not let him go
until I had brought him into my mother’s house,
and into the chamber of her who conceived me.

I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
by the gazelles or the does of the field,
that you not stir up or awaken love until it pleases.”


I have been so troubled lately, asking God when the one that I can love and cherish will arrive? Does he have this man in mind for me? When will we meet? How old will I be? Am I one of those chosen to live as Paul, celibate for life?
All of these questions rolling around in my head and finally one night when i could not sleep because the questions were getting too loud to bear. I sat up and was directed to this passage of scripture. Often I have completely overlooked this book in my single-hood thinking that it would only weigh on my heart more and make even more evident my lonely state.
But God in his infinite wisdom drew me to this book to take a deeper look.... the poetry of it all is astounding and in some segments a bit graphic.....however it paints the most pure and beautiful picture of what loving another on this planet is intended to look like even down to the struggles and trials that couples will face inevitably over the years.
I was taken by the love that these two individuals felt for one another, and I asked God that my love story may look the same. That beyond the spiritual connection between the two of us, that when the time is right that we will be able to think of no other except that one who is our “treasure” “beloved”.
As I was reading through the book a second time to catch the beauty that I may have missed in this incredible love story recorded in scripture I stumbled upon the third chapter which I was surprisingly able to connect with on a totally personal level.
The chapter starts out as the young woman is awaken in her sleep and she is longing for the one she loves to be by her side. When she realizes he is nowhere to be found she goes out into the town on a search for him. She asks the guard if he had seen her lover, but alas he was nowhere to be found... then finally he appears and her heart is at peace because she has found her lost love.... then what intrigues me the most about this passage is the call to purity immediately following this story where the young woman urges the daughters of Jerusalem to not awaken love until the time is right.
This is precisely the season I am in as a single young adult. Waiting for my love, watching friends my age and even younger find their love...and wondering when my turn might be. I find myself being impatient crying out for one to love....knowing that there is one out there for me, just not sure as to who it might be. The young woman in scripture goes out on a search for her love....and isn’t that the story of every young person who has ever been on a date....we are all looking for love....but just when the young woman was about to give up, her lover appeared and her heart was content! This brings hope...in the search there may be good things one takes away from each relationship and there is bound to be some bad, but we as God’s chosen generation must guard our hearts and stay pure and not awaken love until the time is right.
When the time is right, my love will find me and delight in me.... as I wait for that glorious day I will cherish each moment in the process..the longing....the searching....and the revealing....all go into this perfect love story God is orchestrating because he cares that much for me!
I challenge you daughters...and sons for that matter....do not awaken love until the time is right....its worth the wait.... don’t be too hasty and spoil the wondrous thing God has in store!