Devo 33: Weak and Strong

Who is this coming up from the wilderness, leaning upon her Beloved?


Song of Solomon 8:6

At this point, the dark, but lovely Shulamite has been through a lot. She was awakened by her Lover (ch. 1-3), introduced to various trials (ch. 4), sent on a wild goose chase (ch. 5-6), beaten and battered (ch 5), and then reunited with her Beloved (ch. 7-8).

Things have not been easy for her. No wonder she is leaning on her Beloved. She is broken and weak. Why did her Beloved take her through all of those hardships?

Well, partly because she invited Him to let the north and south winds blow on her garden (SOS 4:16). Until that point, she was a locked garden, a fountain sealed (4:12). Then, she allowed Him to open her heart.

It was not easy for her. She went through a lot of pain, confusion, and doubt. Yet, she continued to run after Him to the mountain of Myrrh and find Him no matter the cost.

Her whole journey led to weakness—leaning on Her Beloved. Although she fought her way through it all, she ultimately had to trust in her Beloved, even though He seemed to have led her on a terrible journey in the wilderness that she did not understand.

The thought occurred to me the other day that the Shulamite coming out of the wilderness leaning on her Beloved is the same as John the Baptist becoming mighty in spirit in the wilderness (Lk. 1:80).

The Shulamite had traded her strength for the strength of the Beloved. John the Baptist become mighty in spirit, but he said, “He must increase, and I must decrease” (Jn. 3:30).

All my life, I have hated weakness. I have always wanted to be strong and be able to take care of myself. When I came into the wilderness, I said that I wanted to be mighty in spirit. Yet, what I am finding is that to be mighty in spirit, I have to first become weak.

Paul spoke of this when he was asking the Lord to take away his affliction. He pleaded three times for the Lord to take it away (II Cor. 12:8). The Lord would not, however, and said to him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in your weakness” (I Cor. 12:9).

Then Paul makes a profound statement and says he would rather take pride in his infirmities that the power of Christ would rest on Him. Therefore, he takes pleasure in infirmities, persecutions, and distresses for the sake of Christ, because when we are weak, He is strong (I Cor. 12:10).

Of course, the ultimate example of this is Jesus. He made Himself of no reputation and the Lord exalted Him (Phil. 2:15). He used the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty (I Cor. 1:27). He died on a cross to save the entire world.

It was in the weakness of dying on a cross that Jesus glorified the Father. Jesus was mighty in spirit even as He was dying. He had trusted the Lord to lead Him through the wilderness and He came out leaning on His Beloved. When He breathed His last, He said, “Father, into your hands, I commit my spirit” (Lk. 23:46).

In the place of weakness, we become mighty in spirit. We come out leaning on our Beloved—trusting in His leadership. He increases and we decrease. When we give Him permission to lead us, we have to trust Him when He takes us places of pain, sorrow, and anguish. He is not concerned about our comfort, but He is concerned about our heart. He wants to make His strength perfect in us so we come out leaning on Him.

Blessings,

Amanda
 
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