Author: Pamela Spock (IntimateKingdom.com)

The Evening Call of the…Robin?

/ Pamela Spock (IntimateKingdom.com) / 8 Comments

Sky Outdoors Moon Nature Light Dark Mystery
I woke today to hear a robin chirping loudly outside my window. But it was still pitch black out! When I looked at my clock I moaned that it was only 3:17 a.m. But this robin didn’t seem to know what time it was. He was just singing his heart out in the misty night air, oblivious to the fact that most everything was still in deep sleep.

Or trying to be!  I couldn’t fall back asleep with him being so noisy.

So I laid there and waited. Surely this robin will soon realize that no female birds are answering him back. (assuming he was a male, and this is what he was hoping for)

But consistent and rhythmic, and seemingly taking no breath, the robin persisted. And persisted!

When it was about 4 a.m and I still had not fallen back asleep because of the robin, I began to inquire of the Spirit what was going on. I heard, “He’s a voice crying in the wilderness.” And then, “Wait and hear what happens.”

So I waited longer, (ha, not that there was much of a choice) and then heard the faint sound of another robin in the distance. And then another. Looking at my clock again, it was 4:17 a.m. – exactly an hour after the robin began singing. Yes, finally a few other robins were joining in!

Believe it or not, this is when I fell asleep. :-) When I woke again at 7 a.m., the world was sparkling and alive with all sorts of birds singing!

Now there is a lot that could be said of a metaphor of a persistent, lone call in a deeply sleeping world.  Many of us have been hearing a similar call from God, particularly for a “Bride” to awaken, mature, and respond to His advances, both individually, and in a more corporate way.  How do we respond?

“The season of singing has come.”

Feel free to share your heart in this matter.   Here are a few verses that speak to this call:

“Arise, my Darling, my beautiful one, come with Me.
Look! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone.
Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come,
and the cooing of doves (or robins, if you will) is heard in our land. ~Song 2:10-12

wind blowing leaves

My dove in the clefts of the rock, in the hiding places on the mountainside, show me your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.  ~ Song 2:14

wind blowing leaves

He taught me how to sing the latest God song, a praise song to our God.
More and more people are seeing this: they enter the mystery,
abandoning themselves to God.  ~Psalm 40:3 (The Message)

Breaking from a Village Focus

/ Pamela Spock (IntimateKingdom.com) / 4 Comments

What do you think of when reading the following quote? It was something posted on Facebook by an old family friend who we fondly called, “Uncle Sam.”  That he’s not my real uncle, yet had a spiritual role in my life as one, is only a confirmation of what I personally thought of when I first saw the quote. (I’m still interested in what you see in it, as well)

Kingdom of God and Village Quote

Jesus said the same thing in so many words: that the Kingdom of God is not where you can have one foot in, and one foot out. His disciples had to literally leave their old lives and many relationships, (“villages”) in order to literally follow Him for the three intense years He ministered on earth.  I assume some spouses came along. Some did not. Generally, it was close family members that had the biggest problem with the radical new thing Jesus was bringing about,¹ and they were the sorest source of resistance and  “pull” from fully following Jesus.

When Peter felt the need to remind Jesus, “We have left everything to follow you,” Jesus had no argument. Only an encouragement. His encouragement was that you don’t leave the smallness of one’s “village,” to enter a place of emptiness. You come into a large Kingdom with an abundance of spiritual relationships.

Truly I tell you, anyone who has left homes or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for Me and the gospel, will not fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and land—along with persecutions–and in the age to come eternal life.  ~ Mark 10:28-30

Unlike a generic “brotherhood,” (an orphan substitute commonly offered in “church” life) the Kingdom contains true, and everlasting family that can only be discerned and enjoyed when there is a shift in one’s priorities away from the “village mindset” that keeps us fearful, limited, and walking in the concerns of the flesh all the time.

It’s not easy to live in the Kingdom now. Especially when in doing so, one may have to endure condemnation, misunderstanding, or grief from those you love, and even respect.

“Forgetting” What Lies Behind

In the Song of Songs, there was a beautiful woman who either left, or was taken from her village, who later became the bride of Solomon. To say she did not struggle a little may not be accurate. In fact, I can hear the voice of the aged David saying to this woman:

Listen, daughter, pay attention and consider: forget your people and your father’s house. Let the king be enthralled by your beauty, and honor him… Psalm 45:10-11

It’s a hard saying, but as the Bride of Christ, it’s just not possible to endlessly seek for the approval of others, and be fully engaged in Kingdom work. Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God?  Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ. Gal. 1:10.  This does not mean literally abandoning family, or being callous and unloving to those we are in relationship to – but it does mean being aware of one’s affections, and how they may be divided from Christ and His Kingdom.

His Bride… has dove’s eyes only for Him.  It may be possible to do this, wherever we are, but the expectation of challenges and persecution should always be counted on.

¹ Matthew 10:35-37

For more reading, see: The Fellowship of Dove’s Eyes