Express Your Desire for Love
Song of Solomon 2:8-14
Encouragement is a powerful tool. If used correctly, it can be transforming. In the 1996 Olympics, Keri Strung, the Olympic gymnast, sought to be a gold medalist. All she had to do was successfully vault, and she would taste gold. There was only one problem. She sprained her ankle and could barely walk when she did her first vault. She fell and did not get the score she needed. She sat on the sidelines and cried for two reasons. One, she was in pain. Two, she wouldn’t get the gold. She had one jump left and felt she could not do it, but her coach encouraged her by saying, “You can do it, Keri, you can do it. I believe in you.”
This girl was hurting so much that she cried, but she had someone who believed in her. As she limped to get ready to vault, she could barely move. Afterward, she told an interviewer that she could only keep her eyes on the coach. He kept her from focusing on her ankle. From his support, she found the strength she didn’t have. Even with the limp, she ran and flipped on the vault. She had to nail the landing to win and did it with an injured ankle. With her coach’s encouragement holding her up, she conquered the impossible. She earned a high enough score for the US to bring home the gold. Encouragement took Keri from an Olympic athlete to a Gold Medal Olympian. Encouragement can change your perception of yourself. How you perceive yourself changes how you present yourself.[i]
This is a similar story of encouragement to our Shulamite from her shepherd-king. In chapter 1:6-7, she is a young girl uncertain about her appearance and value. Solomon reassures his betrothed by showering her with words of love and encouragement in verses 1:8, 15-16; 2:1, and gifts of affection in verses 1:10-11.
Reassurance has caused the maiden to gain self-confidence and self-worth. This happened due to love and encouragement from someone she knew loved her. She knows for sure that she is loved and loves in return.
In the spring, love seems to be in the air. This is the case with our sweethearts. Their wedding day is fast approaching. Time is growing short, and every thought and action is intensified and must be evaluated as the day approaches.
Akin states, “the most important decision a person will ever make is whether or not they will trust Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. The second most important decision is whom they will marry. We must ask many good questions, look at things carefully, and make a wise and informed decision.”[ii] Our emotions and heart are incredibly influential on our minds when making these types of decisions, which makes it hard. Deciding on someone else’s love life is easier because we can see their situation objectively without emotions attached. They say, “love is blind,” and it is true. We can overlook warning flags when our feelings are wrapped up in a relationship. This is why it is best to listen to people we know who have our best interests at heart during decision-making.
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[i] Tony Evans, Tony Evan’s Book of Illustrations, (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2009). Pg. 85.
[ii] Daniel L. Akin, Christ-Centered Exposition, Exalting Jesus in Song of Songs (Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2015). Pg. 50.
