Answer the Door & Come Away With Me!
Answer the Door & Come Away With Me
By K. Lewis
The word, “disappointed”, means to be saddened or displeased by an unfulfilled hope or expectation. The key word in that definition is “expectation”. One cannot be disappointed if they don’t have any expectations, which is impossible for humans. Expectations are a part of our human make-up. Right? Also, to expect something means that you have a strong belief that something will happen. Disappointment kicks in when that expectation isn’t met; when that “something” doesn’t happen.
So, my question to you is this: can God be disappointed? My favorite author, Ted Dekker, posed this question and it blew my mind. Because, the answer is NO! God cannot be disappointed. Why? Because He doesn’t survive or live on expectations. He doesn’t just hope and pray that something will happen. He KNOWS what will or will not happen. He is NEVER caught by surprise or caught unaware. He knew that after 30 days, you would find those pills your husband hid from you, or the password to unblock the adult sites on the computer, that your wife hid from you. He knew that you would pick up that phone again and gossip. He knew you would start reading those books again. He knew that you would not listen when Holy Spirit prompted you to do something, and He knew you would choose Netflix over fellowship with Him for 6-weeks straight. After falling and failing, we assume God is disappointed in us, because we are disappointed in ourselves. We did not meet our own expectations. We thought we were done with circling that mountain, only to arrive at it once again.
We cannot put the disappointment that we feel for ourselves on God. God CANNOT BE DISAPPOINTED because He knows everything! He didn’t have an expectation that you would succeed, even knowing how sincere your desire to do so was. He knew what the outcome would be; He knew the choice you would make. So, if He cannot be disappointed, if He is not standing over you wagging His finger and shaking His head at you in disgust, what is He doing when we fail once again and again? Has He turned His back on us, giving up on us? NO! Is He hoping and praying that “third time’s the charm” in our situations of shortcomings? NO!
I believe He’s fulfilling Revelation 3:20: “Behold, I stand at the door and continually knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him (restore him), and he with Me.” Even when we say, “this time, I’m going to do it, this time, I’m not going to fail,” God knows if that is true or not. If it’s not true, He’s not disappointed because He cannot be caught unaware or by surprise. Instead, He’s knocking and waiting for us to open the door so He can come in, fellowship with us, and restore us. His arm never get’s tired of knocking; that’s how big His love is. AND, He’s not just knocking. He’s speaking: “Come away, my lover. Come with me to the faraway fields. We will run away together to the forgotten places and show them redeeming love (Song of Songs 7:11).”
I have four questions for you regarding this verse and how it connects with Revelation 3:20 and disappointment.
What does this call for us to “come away” with Him look like?
Why does He call us His “lover”?
Where are these faraway fields?
What are these forgotten places?
Question 1: What does this call for us to “come away” with Him look like?
The answer to this question is easy, although fulfilling it seems to be the hardest thing on the planet to do sometimes. It looks like intimacy. It looks like spending time with Holy Spirit, who was given to us so that our relationship with Him can look like the disciples relationship with Jesus. So that we can have the same closeness that the disciples experienced with our Savior while He was physically on this earth. It seems impossible, because Holy Spirit is not flesh and visible. However, not only is this type of closeness with our Invisible Comforter sent by Jesus to live inside of us after His crucifixion and ascension, possible, it’s the cry of God’s heart for us to see it as necessary to living a life of purpose in Him. Intimacy is cultivated in time spent with who we love or who we want to love more. So, spend time with Him, with Holy Spirit, in prayer, meditation, Bible study, Bible reading, and fellowship with other Believers. He’s knocking. He’s not disappointed that you fell short again. He’s knocking. He wants you to turn from YOUR disappointment, answer the door, and receive His restoration.
Question 2: Why does He call us His “lover”?
What is the main characteristic of lovers? Intimacy! Closeness! Togetherness! Whatever word you choose, lovers are bonded, blended, and connected in ways others are not. As Sons of God, we’re created to be intimate with our Heavenly Father. As His Bride, we’re created to be intimate with our Bridegroom King. As Joint Heirs with Christ, we’re created to be intimate with Holy Spirit. God, who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, desires us and calls us His lovers to remind us who we are and what our relationship is meant to look and feel like. Human lovers leave one another or judge one another when disappointment creeps up in the relationship. God is not human, and we are His sons and daughters. Disappointment does not have to define our relationship. He still, despite our falls and failures, calls us His lover. Cast down disappointment, stomp on it until the dust is blown away in the wind, and answer that call.
Question 3: Where are these faraway fields?
Those are the places of encounter where we get revelation regarding the instructions for living for us individually. This revelation only happens if we have embraced our position as “lover”. If we are not intimate, we cannot hear, we are not close enough to hear, what He has to say regarding our destiny, purpose, and next steps.
For example, perhaps, there has been this deep desire in you to learn a different language. A desire that you’ve been ignoring. Intimacy allows Him to reveal His purpose for putting this desire in your heart and mind. Perhaps He is trying to give you cognitive exercises to ward off early onset Alzheimer’s? Perhaps he wants to send you to the country where that language is spoken. Or, more simply, He wants to prepare you for an encounter at the gas station where you will come across a native speaker of this language who needs to hear a message through you from Him.
We, as God’s children, are not called to live in complete ignorance regarding the trajectory of our lives. But we will, if we don’t go with Him to those faraway fields, those places of encounter through intimacy, in order to hear what He is saying about the trajectory of our lives.
Question 4: What are these forgotten places?
These are the things He wants to accomplish through you. It’s the utilization of the gifts, talents, callings, abilities, and skills He has given you or wants to cultivate in you for service to the Kingdom in partnership with Him. The example I gave above about learning a different language could be one of the things He wants to accomplish in some of His children.
Those forgotten places are different for all of us. Yet, they accomplish the same purpose, which is for us to reach the audience, the people, that we alone are called to reach. As we partner with Him in this, we show that audience, those people, His redeeming love.
For me, as an example, one of those forgotten places is storytelling.
Ted Dekker is one of my favorite authors. He is a phenomenal storyteller! I have actually felt the anointing of God while reading his fiction even though the name of Jesus isn’t even mentioned. If you are a Christian and a writer, you know how difficult this would be. To present God without mentioning His name or falling back on any of the Christianeese we normally encounter in Christian fiction, and still have His power come off the page, is amazing. It’s a supernatural ability, and because of this ability, unbelievers who read his books will encounter the One who loves them and died for them. Although they may not realize what’s going on, a seed has been planted and /or watered in their hearts.
I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, God wants to accomplish something similar in me through storytelling. The only way this gift, this calling, gets cultivated is if I stomp on the disappointment I have felt in myself for waiting so long to walk in my calling, and the disappointment I feel on the days I should be writing but choose not to, and embrace my walk with Him in the forgotten place. I must answer the knock on the door, grab His hand, and go away with Him. There are people who NEED to encounter His redeeming love and that may only happen through one of my stories. The same goes for you and your gifts.
He is NOT disappointed in you, so don’t let the disappointment you feel in and with yourself hold you captive behind the door He is consistently and lovingly knocking at. His call, “come away with Me, My lover,” is sincere, it’s real, and it’s the true desire of His heart for us. We just need to embrace our status as “lover” by answering the door, making intimacy the normal part of our every-day, and partnering with Him in our gifts, callings, talents, and skills. Not only is He waiting for us to do this, the world needs us to do this!