“We will make thee plaits of gold
With studs of silver.”
– Song of Songs 1:11, ASV
The cross works on you with little sympathy, whether you feel you are willing for it or not. When God says, “We will make you plaits of gold,” He will do it in a very fine way. He will deal with you to the point that you become exhausted and feel there is no way to go on. However, after “disheveling” your hair in this way, God will finally braid it back again, and you will find that something divine has been added into your being.
God doesn’t work on you while you are sleeping, when you don’t have any feelings; after waking up you don’t suddenly find that a crown of gold has been woven into your hair. You will feel it when the Lord works on you. It is the process you go through, the way of the cross, that produces the crown within you. The more work of the cross you experience, the more of the crown you will possess, and the more you will be able to truly help others and genuinely serve them.
Adapted from The Song of Songs: A Divine Romance, pages 52-53.
Tomorrow: “Plaits of Gold” (6)