Nov 27-29

Hey everybody

There are times in every believers life when they feel run down or discouraged in their relationship with God. Yes, we are sinful. But the Lord sees us as beautiful and perfect when we have a 'Yes' in our hearts and when we are sincerely trying to obey Him and love Him.
When we feel discouraged and when we are caught in crisis the Lord sees us one way. He sees us as lovely. (SOS 1:5)

SOS 1:9-10 (NASB)
- Here is the way the Lord responds to the Shulammite in SOS when she is confronted with spiritual crisis and a longing for the Lord. This is how He says she is and this is how He says we are.

"To me my darling, you are like
My mare among the chariots of Pharaoh.
"Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments,
Your neck with strings of beads."

First He calls her His darling. He confirms in her heart from the get-go that she is His favorite one.
The mare among the chariots of Pharaoh is a symbol of strength and power and righteousness. the Lord is saying she is equipped in righteousness way more than she thinks she is and He knows what her true potential is.
Her cheeks are lovely with ornaments - meaning that the emotions she portrays on her face and the way she shows them to God is lovely to Him. He can see the way her face blushes or turns away when She is confronted before Him in emotion and no matter what it looks like He is pleased and undone by her.
The neck is a symbol of will. So 'Your neck with strings of beads' is referring to her submission to God. When the 'Yes' in her heart is in full bloom even though She is caught in a crisis. The strings of beads refers to divine character that she wears around her neck. The way royalty would wear expensive chains of gold around their neck. the Lord sees her with a will ready to turn and bend to His love even in weakness.
(all info taken from Mike Bickle's SOS verse by verse study guide)

So basically what I'm getting at here is that even when anyone of us feels down in the dumps about where we stand with God - and we all get this way sometimes - Its important to know how He feels towards us and how He loves us in those moments.
Then once we find out from reading things like SOS 1:9-10 we can agree and pray it into our lives. Taking the scriptures and focusing on them in a prayerful way telling God how He loves us and what He's said about us in His word and making it real in our hearts. Add some fasting into that and it will just make the experience that much more enjoyable! God Bless! have fun!
-Drew