Cómo Estabilizar Su Frustrante Relación Con Dios

God’s Remarkable Illustration in the Song of Solomon

The Song of Solomon. I think it is one of the least read books in the Bible. I recently spoke at a church service about the Song of Solomon. I asked the congregation, “How many of you have read the Song of Solomon?” No one in the room would admit to reading it! I was so surprised! Any person that has read the Bible in completion at least once has read the Song of Solomon. So, I expected to see a few people raise their hands. But no one did.

When I was much younger, my Christian walk was a bit of a roller coaster. Up and down. High and low. At the altar on Sunday, and at places I shouldn’t have been on Friday and Saturday. Even when I wasn’t going places I shouldn’t have been going to and doing things I shouldn’t have been doing, I still found my walk with God to be inconsistent. I struggled with finding stability in my relationship with God. And I have talked to and observed enough people over the years as I have taught and ministered to know that my experience is not uncommon.

Hoy voy a compartir con usted algo que aprendí al estudiar el Cantar de los Cantares. Espero que esto le ayude a equilibrar los altibajos y las inconsistencias en su caminar con Dios.

El Cantar de los Cantares como un Drama

Antes de pasar a Cantares, quiero sentar las bases. Una introducción de Cantares que se encuentra en una de mis biblias de estudio dice lo siguiente sobre el libro:

Entre las multitudes que leen la Biblia hay comparativamente pocas personas que tienen un conocimiento claro del Cantar de los Cantares. Algunos han pensado que es una colección de canciones, pero generalmente se entiende más como una especie de drama, cuya interpretación positiva es imposible debido a que no se revela la identidad de los oradores ni la duración de los discursos (King James Version / Amplified Bible Parallel Edition [Edición Paralela de las Versiones Reina Valera/Biblia Amplificada, esta última se encuentra disponible solamente en inglés]. Zondervan, 1995).

Vamos a ver esto como un drama y vamos a usar la identidad de los oradores de la forma que se presenta en la versión Amplified.

Hay muchas interpretaciones distintas del Cantar de los Cantares. Algunos cristianos lo ven como la historia de amor entre un hombre y su esposa. Otros cristianos lo ven como la descripción de amor de Cristo por Su iglesia. Mi opinión personal es que es bueno considerar ambas interpretaciones. Pero hoy lo vamos a ver como el drama de amor de Dios por Su iglesia. Recuerde, todos los cristianos (aquellos que han entrado a una relación personal con Jesús a través de la salvación) son parte de Su iglesia. Por tanto, lo que aprendemos de leer Cantares se aplica a la iglesia de forma corporativa y a cada uno de nosotros de forma individual.

Let’s identify the characters in the drama. The king represents Jesus. The Shulamite woman represents the Church as a whole, and also you and me individually. The watchmen are Satan and his demons.

I want to explore two situations in which the Shulamite woman went wandering around the city, what happened when she did in each of the situations, and why the consequences were different.  By comparing these situations, we will discover the remarkable illustration God has provided to help us stabilize our relationship with Him.

La Sulamita Busca al Rey

In Song of Solomon 3:1-4, the Shulamite woman sought the king, but she didn’t find him. So, she went out into the city streets to search for him, without success. Then she inquired of the watchmen. There doesn’t seem to be any response from the watchmen. Instead, she saw the king just a little passed the watchmen. We don’t know if she went to the king or he came to her. Since she is the one who held him and would not let him go, it would seem likely that she ran to him. He accepted her. And he allowed her to take him to a place of privacy.

Consider this as applicable to us and Jesus. We often seek the Lord in prayer and worship. But there are times when we don’t feel like He is there. So, we go searching for Him, or at least we go searching to fill the void we feel.

Jesus is the only One who can fill the void you feel. Where is the proper place to search for Him? In His Word! If we still don’t feel Him, who should we consult with? Our spiritual leaders, pastors, parents or friends who have a mature relationship with God.

But in this drama, who did the woman ask to help her? The watchmen, which represent Satan and his demons. Certainly, she didn’t know who the watchmen were. She thought the watchmen were there to protect her and help her. We would expect the same thing from security guards, or watchmen. But the watchmen weren’t there to protect her.

Afortunadamente, el rey estaba cerca. Los guardas no tuvieron oportunidad de responder. El rey se hizo visible y accesible. Ella corrió hacia él, y así es como yo espero que nosotros corramos hacia nuestro Señor cuando lo buscamos de manera persistente y lo volvemos a sentir. La Biblia nos promete en Jeremías 29:13 que lo encontraremos cuando lo busquemos de todo corazón.

La Sulamita Busca al Rey Nuevamente

Now, let’s look at another time when the woman went looking for the king as recorded in Song of Solomon 5:2-7. The woman was in bed again, sleeping. This time the king sought her and woke her up by knocking on her door. He asked her to let him into her room. She didn’t want to be inconvenienced! In those days getting up and letting him in would have required that she dress again and later wash her feet again. She didn’t want to be bothered. The king reached through a hole in the door, she reconsidered. But by the time she got to the door, the king had already departed.

The woman again went searching for him. But this time the results of her search were much different. This time, the watchmen were waiting. They found her. They attacked her. They injured her. In verse 7 the Shulamite woman explains, “The keepers of the walls took away my veil from me.”  This indicates the watchmen took away her dignity and exposed her immodestly. I have heard some teachers explain that taking away the veil may be a polite way to say they raped her. Despite the injury, the woman found the king and he again expressed his love to her.

Identifying the Different Results of the Shulamite Woman’s Searches

Entonces, ¿cuál es la diferencia entre la primera vez que fue a buscar al rey y lo encontró cerca de los guardas, y la segunda vez cuando él no estaba cerca y Satanás y sus demonios la hirieron severamente?

Consider Song of Solomon 2:10-15, which describes the woman’s relationship with the king before her first search for the king. The two had endured some hard times together, they endured the winter, but spring had arrived. The king invited the woman to come up into the cliffs with him, which signified a deeper, higher relationship with him. She responded by climbing higher with him and expressing her love to him.

Ahora considera la diferencia entre la primera vez que la mujer salió a buscar al rey y la segunda vez que lo hizo. La diferencia tiene que ver con la relación. Justo antes del primer incidente, el rey y la mujer habían estado expresándose amor mutuo de forma rutinaria. Eran tan cercanos que el rey la invitó a tener una relación más profunda/superior con él. Y ella respondió uniéndose a él en los montes y expresando continuamente su amor por él. En esa relación, el rey nunca estaba lejos.

Pero justo antes del segundo incidente, la mujer había rechazado al rey. Ella encontró su invitación demasiado inconveniente. Ésta requería demasiado esfuerzo para volverse a vestir y lavarse nuevamente los pies. Ella lo rechazó. Por consiguiente, el rey no estaba cerca. ¿Quiénes estaban cerca? Los guardas, Satanás y sus demonios. Y ellos la hirieron severamente.

Elimine la Frustración en Su Caminar con Dios

So, do you want to get off the roller coaster ride of a spiritual life and eliminate the accompanying frustration? Then be like the Shulamite woman in the first incident. Be in God’s presence routinely and pray without ceasing as the Apostle Paul taught the church in Thessalonica in 1 Thessalonians 5:17. Be in God’s word for yourself — not just when you are at church — so that you hear God speak to you through His Word.

When you go through times, hard times when you don’t feel God near, it is OK to seek counsel from spiritual leaders God has clearly established in your life. Seek godly counsel. And if you make a mistake, if you step outside and look the wrong direction for Him, He will be right there. You will find Him quickly.

Don’t be like the Shulamite woman in the second incident. Do not reject the Lord. Do not treat Him like He is an inconvenience because He asks you to be holy as He is holy and to live soberly and vigilantly. (1 Peter 1:15-16; 5:8.) Doing so will lead to continued inconsistencies and frustration in your relationship with Him.

We don’t have to struggle with inconsistency in our spiritual walk, becoming more and more frustrated each time we seem to drift from God. God has given us this remarkable illustration in the Song of Solomon. Learn from the Shulamite woman and stay close to the King of kings, cherishing your time with Him and speaking love to Him through prayer and listening to Him speak to you through His Word. Then you will stabilize your relationship with God and will eliminate this frustration in your life.