Are they skipping, I wondered.
When I taught elementary grades, my litmus test for the children’s well-being was to observe them during recess and see if they skipped. Even a child at rest swings a foot, shrugs a shoulder, or sways.
In chapter seven of Song of Solomon, the Bride of Christ is allegorically pictured as a princess with jeweled thighs and wearing gorgeous shoes. She is spiritually adorned with these so she can skip with reckless abandon as a child does.
I am Jesus’ Bride, so I like to think of these as my skipping sandals. And I say in response, “Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field; let us lodge in the villages. Let us get up early” (7:11a). I think of skipping to my workplace with Jesus beside me, empowering me to serve effectively.
My beginning was not so glorious. In chapter one, my head was down, my shoulders drooped, problems overwhelmed me, and I had lost my way. This scenario changed when I told Jesus I need Him to be Lord of my life.
Jesus is not daunted by any challenge I face. He lifts my head, takes my hand, and offers to become my groom. He is filled with joy that I’ve come to Him, and He leaps like a gazelle. My beloved shines His light on every shadowy place in my life until only His glory remains.
But this is not something I do on my own. He does this for me as I reveal my needs to Him. In the process, He creates in me a joy no circumstance can take away.
When I imagine the great joy Jesus has worked within me—and by the time He gives me skipping sandals—I smile. Those beautiful shoes and sparkly joints are His gift. He has created me to skip so I can reach into the spiritual realm and skip with Him each day.
Ask God to create within your spirit a beautiful skip.
(Photo courtesy of pixabay.)
(For more devotions, visit Christian Devotions.)
Diane Virginia is the author of The Kiss of Peace: An Intimate Exploration into Song of Solomon (awaiting publication). She is a regular contributor for Christian Broadcasting Network and has written for Christian Devotions Ministries, Faith Beyond Fear, Pentecostal Publishing House, The Secret Place, and other ministries. She can be contacted at www.vinewords.net.