Week #7 - Deep Unto Deep

Chapter Six: Dark yet Lovely


Song of Solomon 1:5 is where this phrase, “dark yet lovely,” appears; I will make initial comments on this chapter, and Joan will take it up from there next week.

The Lord has His way of “trapping” us, cornering us so that there’s nowhere to run. This is His great mercy even though it may be painful in the moment. He knows that we are only at peace and joy when we know Him and are known by Him in intimate communion, and in His great love for us, He carefully designs circumstances to get us to Himself.

Often, as fallen humans, our response to this being cornered by God is to run to coping mechanisms, busyness being the most common among Christians. In referring to a season like this in her sister’s life, the author writes, “Which was worse – the pain of His silence or the disillusionment of her love’s weakness? It was all she could do to stay and continue (seeking Him) instead of reaching for something to ‘prop up’ her soul and deliver her from this place of (facing her) barrenness. Ruined for comforts and pleasures that were once fulfilling, yet experiencing nothing of the sweetness she desired in communion, she remained trapped before her silent Beloved…”

The end of that story is that when this day, which was set aside to pursue God, was over for her sister, she finally held her arms open to Him and simply said, “Enjoy me. Right here, right now, in my absolute weakness, enjoy me.” And God broke through for her.

This simple and desperate prayer isn’t a magic formula, so there’s no guarantee that He will break through just because someone says a certain thing, but the point is that Dana’s sister was finally able to accept that God was attracted to her desire for Him even though she was so weak and barren spiritually. This is what empowers our hearts to keep seeking Him and to keep obeying Him to the end.

As we see in the maiden in the Song of Solomon, we need a revelation of Jesus’ strong desire for us if we are going to mature into lovesick worshippers who will give all for Him. “Though sincere desire for Jesus burns within us, we unavoidably run headlong into our own weakness. Our passion for Him is real. Our sincerity is sure. Yet we lack spiritual maturity. We cannot go long before we discover our utter inability to sustain our fervency.” It’s at this point that we need the revelation that though we are “dark” (weak and spiritually immature), we are “lovely” (desirable) in His eyes.

One of the things that makes us “lovely” to Him even when we are immature in our love is that there is a “yes” in our spirit towards Him, there’s a real and genuine desire in us to obey Him. This in itself is very attractive to Him, even though He knows very well that we are “dark.”

The author goes on to define the “darkness” in our lives:
• Sin and compromise
• Weakness of our fallenness (which will only be reversed fully in the age to come)

“To know that I am ‘dark but lovely’ is to understand my weakness, which is comprised of my sinfulness, my immaturity and my natural limitations together with the revelation of my loveliness to Him. (Psa.86:1,2)…With His eyes full of fire, He perceives the continual cry deep within my heart to belong fully to Him, and He calls it part of my ‘loveliness.’ He defines me by the things that are not yet revealed as though they were…”

This makes me think of when Jesus said to Simon, “You are Peter…” Jesus’ fiery eyescould penetrate and see into who Simon really was – he was Peter, and Jesus spoke that into being by naming Simon a new name which carried the meaning of Peter’s true self in God.

“We are far weaker than we realize and far lovelier than we realize…Our loveliness is not an attribute gained by our attainments. It is a gift of God. He sees us beautiful because of what He Himself has accomplished in our salvation and transformation. This divine perspective is our source of protection from the accusations of the enemy…Without this combined confession – our darkness and our loveliness – we cannot continually ascend in our journey of His embrace…Our loveliness protects us from shame and condemnation, and our weakness keeps us from pride and arrogance.”/strong>

The author goes on to expound on the fundamental reasons God sees us as lovely even when we have so far to go in maturing, and she also addresses the issue that this doesn’t imply that He finds deliberate rebellion attractive at all.

But I want to end here to once again encourage you to ponder these things, allowing God to rename you as He did Peter. Many, if not all, of us have been given negative labels (names) by significant people in our lives – parents, teachers, friends, spouse, children, etc.; and we often live under those names for years, crippled and insecure because of accepting them.

God alone knows who you are and can, by His Spirit, call forth the true you by “naming” you for who you really are in Him. So please don’t simply read this as just some more information to add to the collection of spiritual data but take the time and effort to listen to His voice and to agree with what He says to you about your true identity.

I’ve found that hearing His affirming and defining words once isn’t enough; so Lord, I pray that Your grace will rest on Your people to seek You with all our being; and when we find ourselves “cornered” by You, grant us courage and perseverance to remain with You there and allow You to love us even in the awareness of how “dark” we are. You are soooo good, dear Lord! We love You and thank You…in Jesus’ holy name!

Next week we’ll continue with this chapter on “Dark yet Lovely.” Blessings on you!