Responding To The Lover of Our Souls (Part 1)

Though deeply religious, the Wesley brothers struggled with insecurity about their salvation. It wasn’t until they read aloud Luther’s preface to the Epistle to the Galatians that they understood the concept of grace. Charles Wesley said, “My heart was so full of love and grace I burst into tears.” It was Wesley who wrote the lyrics to “Jesus, Lover of My Soul.” 

Jesus, lover of my soul,
Let me to Thy bosom fly,
While the nearer waters roll,
While the tempest still is high.
Hide me, O my Savior, hide,
Till the storm of life is past;
Safe into the haven guide;
Oh, receive my soul at last.

The exact phrase “Jesus, Lover of my Soul” is not found in Scripture, but the concept surely is. Isaiah tells us the Lord rejoices over us as a Bridegroom rejoices over his bride. The Lord likens Himself to a bridegroom throughout Scripture, but perhaps most positively and clearly in the Song of Songs.

I wonder if those who refuse to see this portrait also miss seeing how deeply and intimately they are loved by God.

 This week and next, I want to tell you Maggie’s story, a young neighbor of mine who delights my soul. Our families have been “kissing cousins” in cabins along the lake for four generations. Here is the adult Maggie with her parents, two of the most giving and serving people I know.

Several summers ago, Maggie came flying over to see me, bursting with excitement because she had come to know Jesus, the Lover of her Soul, during her freshman year at college.

“Dee, I have to tell you what has happened to me!” Then she told me how, through the influence of CRU at Butler University in Indiana, she had come to Christ. She had grown up in a faithful church-going home and was active in the youth group. She said, “I know the gospel was preached at my church, but this year my ears finally heard it.”

I have been astounded at how she has grown in these last four years — she is more mature than many believers who have known Him for decades. I know God is going to use her mightily, for she has lessons to teach us all.

Sunday: 

1. Share a few ways you experienced the Lover of your Soul this week.

2. What thoughts do you have on the above — on Jesus being the Lover of your Soul? 

Monday: My Dove Is In The Clefts of The Rock

Repeatedly in the Song, the Bridegroom calls his bride a dove. She is pure, but she is timid, needing to be convinced of His love, which He keeps doing, until by the end of the Song, she is coming out of the wilderness “leaning on her lover.” Early in the Song, she is hiding in the cleft of the rock.

My daughter Annie’s children rescued a baby dove this summer, which had fallen from its nest. They cared for her gently, feeding her with an eye dropper, cooing to her, keeping her safe. Now she trusts them and tamely flies from one child to another. Download and watch this 15-second video:

Dove_4377

3. Do a little research. What can you learn about doves?

4. Read Song of Songs 2:14

A. Where is his dove, and why, do you think?

B. What does He ask of her? What do you learn about Christ’s feelings for you?

C. How often does He hear your voice?

In a recent sermon, Mark Vroegop encouraged us to read a psalm aloud when we feel disconnected from the Lord. I believe this is why many godly men and women make it a practice to pray psalms aloud day and night. (Bonhoeffer, Keller, Graham, Tripp)

5. Read Song of Songs 5:2-4

A. Again, he calls her his dove – what descriptive phrase follows it? Why is this appropriate for a dove?

B. Do you feel flawless in the sight of the Lord? If so, why?

C. Again, this is a picture of her being timid, reluctant this time, to let him in. What lies do we believe that keep us from running to Him or letting Him in?

Tuesday: The Power of Community

The Wesley brothers discovered the gospel in community, through the reading of Luther’s preface to Galatians. A fire was lit and spread. It is often through community that we grow. Maggie had loved the community of her high school youth group so she decided to join CRU, one of the few Christian groups on campus that were meeting during Covid. There, Maggie was drawn to Caroline, whom she described as radiant.

6. According to Psalm 34:4-5, what causes a person to be radiant?

Caroline asked Maggie if she had heard of the gospel. Maggie thought: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John?

7. Was there someone like Caroline early in your Christian life? What do you remember about her or him?

8. Do you have a few close friends who, out of the overflow of their hearts, often talk about the Lord and encourage you?

Wednesday: The Wilderness May Turn Us Toward Him

Maggie was born with a golf-sized tumor under her tongue. It turned out she had a serious, aggressive cancer and spent a good part of her childhood in the hospital with chemo and multiple surgeries. She suffered, as did her whole family, for they were knit to her. They were determined to do everything they could to rescue their precious girl. Many prayers, countless days at the hospital, and diligence. I remember my husband was amazed at how clean her mother kept her toddler’s “chemo” port. He told me, “That is not easy to do with a toddler, but Helen has done it.” Here is Maggie as a baby, having lost her hair due to chemotherapy.

Here is Maggie as a child (on the right) at a camp for kids who have survived or are endeavoring to survive cancer.

When Maggie was born, her parents had to sign a release so the surgeon had permission to remove her tongue if necessary to save her life.  Now Maggie says, “The Lord saved my tongue so I could share the gospel and bring Him glory.”

The suffering of children is tough to understand. Tim Keller said that although people often question why a good God would allow us to suffer, it is also true that for many of us, what pressed us into the Lord the most was our suffering.

9. Though this couldn’t have been the case for newborn Maggie, it is true that God may lead us into the wilderness to bring us to our senses. Can you think of an example from Scripture?

10. Read Hosea 2:15-17 and explain why God led Hosea’s wife into the wilderness.

11. He leads all of us through the wilderness in this life, but if we respond well, it will increase our intimacy with him. How do you see this in Song of Songs 8:5?

12. Think of your most recent desert or wilderness time. How did you respond, and what was the result?

Thursday: Discipleship 

Recently, I read Michael Lawrence’s book “Conversion” on the importance of discipleship. There are so many “nice” nominally Christian people, both young and old, but they don’t have an intimate relationship with the Lord. Are they saved? Only God knows, but many will be surprised on Judgment Day when He says, “I never knew you.” As Lawrence says, God doesn’t want nice people but new men; not sincere, but saved; and not decisions, but disciples.

13. What does Jesus tell us to do in Matthew 28:19?

14. What does discipleship look like? Are you involved in doing that? If so, how?

Caroline must have seen something special in Maggie, for she discipled her all four years at her University. One year, Caroline and Maggie went through the gospel of John. One day, while Maggie was sipping a smoothie in the union and reading John, she came to John 9, and suddenly all of her suffering made sense. Maggie was overwhelmed to see this purpose for her suffering.

15. Read John 9:1-5. What do you imagine ministered to Maggie?

Maggie said: “That sealed the deal for me because He had such a purpose for my life – for His glory, not my own.”

Friday: This Is My Comfort In My Affliction, for Your Word Has Given Me Life

In one of his last interviews, Keller noted how often Psalm 119 taught the value of suffering, how it presses us into His Word, and how His Word sustains us.

17. How was suffering a tool that God used to draw the psalmist to Himself in each of the following passages? Write down any insights God gives you from meditating on these verses.

A. Psalm 119:25-28

B. Psalm 119:49-50

C. Psalm 119:67 and 75-76

D. Psalm 119:92

E. Psalm 119:133-134

I will return to Maggie’s story next week; I was overwhelmed by what she shared with me. She has graduated from college and is finding ways to give God glory that I know will inspire you, as they have inspired me. To give you a taste, she has found fellowship not just in church, but also in a running group designed to reach Generation X and Millennials called “Run With Christ.” It’s such a good idea, especially to reach young males who seem to need to be doing something together to bond.

Saturday:

18. What is your take-a-way this week and why?

all suffering can lead us to press into Him. Here is Maggie as a little girl at a “cancer camp.” (She is on the right)