Nancy Taylor Tate
In each generation, God has had a people who know Him and give expression to His heart. At times, He has used a singular voice to move in a particular way at a particular time. But today, there is a corporate voice—a people who know their God—that the Lord is raising up.
The Song of Solomon shows a progression of knowing the Lord and experiencing His inner workings as we grow in our relationship with Him. The first chapter speaks of an awakening to God’s love, then a commitment and hunger to know Him more.
“Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon: for why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions?” Song of Solomon 1:7.
As we spend time with the Lord, a love relationship begins to grow. We start to become more spiritually receptive and to know the heart of God in a deeper way.
“My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away” Song of Solomon 2:10.
As we respond to the Lord, the time of winter, or barrenness, begins to pass from our lives (v. 11). Instead, the beauty of the Lord is seen (v. 12). His throne is established in our hearts, and worship now flows from our inner relationship with Him.
Psalm 40:6 speaks of our ear being “opened.” The Hebrew says, “digged!” The Amplified explains the Lord not only giving us the capacity to hear, but also to obey His Word.
“The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land” Song of Solomon 2:12.
From that place of knowing Him and having new spiritual sensitivity, we begin to give expression to what the Lord is presently saying and doing. Our lives become a testimony through which others can also come to know Christ.
“He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities” Isaiah 53:11.
Isaiah spoke prophetically of Jesus and the finished work of Calvary. He spoke of the travail of His soul being satisfied, of the ingathering of many people, which we continue to see today.
In our generation, as in all others, God will have a people. As the body of Christ continues to grow, the travail of His soul will be satisfied through a people within His body, born of the Spirit, who know their God.
“And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth” Revelation 19:6.
This “voice of many waters” comes from a corporate people that, individually, each have a deep, inner, personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. From their own personal experience, they can now declare “Alleluia! For the Lord our God, the Almighty reigns.”
There is a people who know their God! A people whose heart is after God. Christians who truly are “Christ followers” in word and deed. A people who, first and foremost, desire to live pleasing in His sight. A people who love the Lord and walk in His ways. A people through whom God can speak and move today as true witnesses of His life.
This is where God is calling us in our walk, our consecration, and our relationship with Him today.
From our deep, inner, personal relationship with the Lord, will also come right relationship with each other. Right relationship with God and others is key to a beautiful corporate anointing resting on the body of Christ, lifting the times we gather together.
This quality of spiritual life and experience in our relationship with the Lord is available for those who would seek after it. He has made the way. He is watching and waiting for those who would seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness and desire to live pleasing unto Him.
Regarding the end-time harvest, there are two aspects to consider. Horizontally, there are those the Lord is calling into the body of Christ. But there is also a vertical call, an upward call of God to those within the body of Christ who the Lord is calling into a deeper walk and function with Him.
“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock; if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me” Revelation 3:20.
The Lord is calling! Wherever we are in our faith and walk, may we hear His call and respond, opening the door, that the Lord might come in to our hearts and lives in a greater way!