In the bride’s progression of her spiritual journey she cried out for intimacy with her Beloved, to which He responded by bringing her into His chambers. It is in the chambers where she enjoys and experiences Him in deep spiritual union, but being close to His glory and light also exposes the darkness inside of her. She acknowledges her weaknesses and failures but is ashamed and does not want others to stare at the darkness within her.
This is true for all believers who posture themselves before the light of the Lord’s presence. In His holy presence we are confronted with those areas of our lives where we are still walking contrary to His Word. We are aware of how our old nature has blackened us and feel ashamed when others look at our failures. Most of us try to hide and conceal these areas of our lives, not wanting others to see our weaknesses and old sinful nature. And for fear of judgment from those who would look at the darkness of our lives, we often put on masks and live hoping no one sees who we really are.
Have you ever had a stigma placed on you by someone who could never see where you had matured beyond their first perception? I see this often in both the corporate world and in the church. A person fails to handle a situation in a way that meets everyone’s expectations and the negative behavior is forever retained as the image of who that person is. That person may mature in their character and emotions but still will be overlooked for promotions because they just can’t get free from the stigma. People usually respond in one of two ways to these types of situations; they either begin to see themselves as a loser who will never amount to anything, and give up their pursuits, always living under the perception of other people’s opinions, or they learn to “act” according to the expectations of others. But often in the “acting” they take on yokes that they were not created to carry. They try to become someone they are not while living under the pressure that someone might find out who they really are.
2 Corinthians 5:16-17 says “Therefore, from now on we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” I relate this to the Song of Songs verse in two ways. The first is the challange to view other believers as a new creation; to look beyond their weaknesses and areas where they are still maturing and to love them even as Jesus loves all of us… even in our weakness. We need to search our hearts to see if there are those whom we have placed a stigma upon and have not seen their recent growth and their full potential in the Lord. We need to come along side one another and encourage each other on to greater things in the Kingdom, even though we all fail at times. We need to create an environment in the church where people don’t have to wear a mask for fear of judgment as they are learning to walk out their salvation.
The other application of this verse to our lives is the reality that when sin is exposed in our lives, it is just proof that we are growing in the light! We can take courage that though others may see the un-renewed areas of our lives and those places that have been marred as the consequence of living in a fallen world, but the Lover of our soul sees us as beautiful and lovely. He calls us His own!
Devotional Prayer
Lord, I thank You that you have created me for Yourself, for Your pleasure. You have made me to be Your bride! Thank You that I don’t have to wear a mask any longer, but Your love has set me free from living under the yoke of man’s opinions. You don’t view me through my fallen nature but have made me new. Holy Spirit, I want to walk in Your love and see others according to their new nature so they don’t have to wear a mask around me. Let me see others as You see them!
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Song of Solomon 5:1 I am dark but lovely
I love this statement, “I am dark but lovely” This verse has helped me stay steady as I pursue deeper intimacy with the Lord. It has given me confidence to continue to press in to His heart and not shrink back when I am confronted with the weakness of my flesh. It gives me the assurance that God delights in me and calls me lovely, His dove, His perfect one, as I mature in my relationship with Him, even when I stumble!
Most of us could produce a rap sheet against ourselves that would unquestionably disqualify us from ever achieving the greatness God has called us to; our own accusations can even prevent us from pursuing a deeper relationship with the Lord. It is difficult to come before His holy presence when we see ourselves as sinful and weak in flesh. We are our own worst critics at times, and in spite of God’s abundant mercy and forgiveness, we often seem to place ourselves in a penalty box for a season until we feel we have paid the consequence of our mistakes. And, if it is not our own conscious condemning us, our enemy is always seizing an opportunity to steal, kill, and destroy us by magnifying our weakness as a superior truth over God’s truth and what He says about us. We become more focused on our weakness than focused on Jesus and what He accomplished when He was crucified for our sins.
In the progression of our journey with the Beloved, we have encounters where we are drawn into the King’s chambers and are exposed to His glory and light. These encounters are extremely pleasant to our spirit as we drink from His river of holiness, purity, and glory, but the closer we get to Him, the more the darkness inside of us is exposed. The more His light is revealed in us, the more we recognize our sin. When we really love God, seeing our sin and the weakness of our flesh creates a great tension within us and we can feel like we have failed Him. It is critical then that we understand that He sees us as beautiful and He delights in us even in our weakness. He sees the sincere intentions of our heart to follow and obey Him. He uses a different standard of measurement than we do. If we don’t understand that He loves us in our immaturity, being exposed to His glory and holiness could produce shame and condemnation in us and we would lose confidence to approach Him. How He sees us is a powerful truth to our spirit. We must receive His words of affirmation and His affections on a daily basis and allow the truth of His Word to transform our heart and mind that we might see ourselves as He see us.
God’s heart is moved by us when we are sincere about seeking Him and living for Him. It is amazing to think that the King of all Kings, the One whose reign is eternal, has chosen us as His eternal companion. He desires that we be with Him where His is, even now… not just in eternity! He has made every provision for us to be cleansed and holy, so much so that He has chosen to dwell in us and call us His holy temple. He uses the term “Bridegroom” as He describes His joy and passion for us; He is the pursuer in this relationship. He is not embarrassed to call us His bride! We are His special treasure and His inheritance. Even now, even as we are maturing but are still weak. We don’t have to wait until eternity to enter into His divine romance, He wants us to live every day in the confidence of His ravished heart for us and walk in the sweet union of His love.
Devotional Prayer
Lord, Your love for me is so far beyond my comprehension, You stagger my mind with Your passion and desire for me! Your affirmation gives me confidence that when I stumble I can run to You for help, and not away from You in shame. Oh, that You call me Your bride, to be Your companion, the object of Your affections, forever and ever, time without end, is so incomprehensible. That You see me as beautiful and lovely changes the way I see myself! Your delight is in me, and I am Yours. Thank You for Your amazing love that sustains me through every season in life as I mature in my relatio0nship with You.
Most of us could produce a rap sheet against ourselves that would unquestionably disqualify us from ever achieving the greatness God has called us to; our own accusations can even prevent us from pursuing a deeper relationship with the Lord. It is difficult to come before His holy presence when we see ourselves as sinful and weak in flesh. We are our own worst critics at times, and in spite of God’s abundant mercy and forgiveness, we often seem to place ourselves in a penalty box for a season until we feel we have paid the consequence of our mistakes. And, if it is not our own conscious condemning us, our enemy is always seizing an opportunity to steal, kill, and destroy us by magnifying our weakness as a superior truth over God’s truth and what He says about us. We become more focused on our weakness than focused on Jesus and what He accomplished when He was crucified for our sins.
In the progression of our journey with the Beloved, we have encounters where we are drawn into the King’s chambers and are exposed to His glory and light. These encounters are extremely pleasant to our spirit as we drink from His river of holiness, purity, and glory, but the closer we get to Him, the more the darkness inside of us is exposed. The more His light is revealed in us, the more we recognize our sin. When we really love God, seeing our sin and the weakness of our flesh creates a great tension within us and we can feel like we have failed Him. It is critical then that we understand that He sees us as beautiful and He delights in us even in our weakness. He sees the sincere intentions of our heart to follow and obey Him. He uses a different standard of measurement than we do. If we don’t understand that He loves us in our immaturity, being exposed to His glory and holiness could produce shame and condemnation in us and we would lose confidence to approach Him. How He sees us is a powerful truth to our spirit. We must receive His words of affirmation and His affections on a daily basis and allow the truth of His Word to transform our heart and mind that we might see ourselves as He see us.
God’s heart is moved by us when we are sincere about seeking Him and living for Him. It is amazing to think that the King of all Kings, the One whose reign is eternal, has chosen us as His eternal companion. He desires that we be with Him where His is, even now… not just in eternity! He has made every provision for us to be cleansed and holy, so much so that He has chosen to dwell in us and call us His holy temple. He uses the term “Bridegroom” as He describes His joy and passion for us; He is the pursuer in this relationship. He is not embarrassed to call us His bride! We are His special treasure and His inheritance. Even now, even as we are maturing but are still weak. We don’t have to wait until eternity to enter into His divine romance, He wants us to live every day in the confidence of His ravished heart for us and walk in the sweet union of His love.
Devotional Prayer
Lord, Your love for me is so far beyond my comprehension, You stagger my mind with Your passion and desire for me! Your affirmation gives me confidence that when I stumble I can run to You for help, and not away from You in shame. Oh, that You call me Your bride, to be Your companion, the object of Your affections, forever and ever, time without end, is so incomprehensible. That You see me as beautiful and lovely changes the way I see myself! Your delight is in me, and I am Yours. Thank You for Your amazing love that sustains me through every season in life as I mature in my relatio0nship with You.
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