“I slept but my heart was awake.
    Listen! My beloved is knocking:
‘Open to me, my sister, my darling,
    my dove, my flawless one. 
My head is drenched with dew,
    my hair with the dampness of the night’.” — Song of Solomon 5:2

King Solomon writes “I slept but my heart was awake.” How can a person be both asleep and awake at the same time? As you probably guessed, Solomon wasn’t referring to a physical condition; he was referring to a spiritual one. A person can be spiritually asleep, and yet even as they slumber, something deep inside of them remains wide awake. Somewhere deep within there is a feeling of emptiness, discomfort, and restlessness.  Even when the body is asleep, the soul does not experience tranquillity.

“Listen! My beloved is knocking . . .” Even the deepest sleeper can be awakened. There are times in our lives when we hear the Lord knocking at our door. It can be during times of great joy – like the birth of a child or a marriage. Or it can be at times of great sorrow – like losing a loved one or going through a serious illness.

It can really be any time at all. Sitting underneath the stars or hiking up a great mountain – at some point everyone experiences, however so briefly, what can only be described as the Divine. They are moments of clarity and awe. They are the moments that encourage us to be better and become greater. But more important than those moments themselves are the minutes that follow.

How do you respond when God comes knocking on your door? Do you get up and let Him in? Do you make the changes that you are inspired to make? Sadly, the woman in the Song of Solomon hesitates.  She has just gotten into bed and she doesn’t want to dirty her feet.  Eventually, she decides that getting her feet dusty is a small price to pay for the gift of seeing the love of her life, but by the time she gets to the door, he is already gone. “I opened for my beloved, but my beloved had left; he was gone. My heart sank at his departure” (Song of Solomon 5:6). A moment’s hesitation can lead to a lifetime of regret.

Don’t be that woman.  When God pays you a visit – when you get a flash of inspiration or you are suddenly clear about your path in life – don’t think it over too much. When God is at your doorstep, let Him in!  Let Him into your life and let Him change your life.