- I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys. Song of Solomon 2:1 – Here the maiden is speaking of herself, declaring that she is like these two types of flowers. Now at first read we may see this as her boasting about her beauty, that she is a beautiful rose and lily among the grasses of the valleys. Yet remember in chapter one she made degrading comments about her appearance, saying that she saw herself as one that needed to apologize for her looks. While at first this line seems like she has a new stance on herself, it actually still falls in line with her previous comments. For the understanding of these flowers aren’t anything unique and grand, just simple wildflowers that were everywhere at this time. Essentially she is saying I’m nothing special, just another wildflower like the hundreds of others all around. Yet do you see the beloved’s response in the next verse? He looks at her and says she is like a beautiful lily among thorn bushes. He takes her negative thoughts of herself and replaces them with his views of her. Can we allow this to happen more in our story? How often do we find ourselves living under the banner of how we see ourselves in this life? Maybe the titles we use are “messed up” or “worthless” or “too far gone.” Can we instead listen and live under the words of our Beloved, Jesus Christ? Scripture has a lot to say about who you truly are in Christ. Choose to listen to what the Lord says of you over what you see of yourself. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 3138
- My beloved speaks and says to me: “Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away, for behold, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone.” The Song of Solomon 2:10-11 – God is speaking to you here and is asking you to come to Him. To step away from the temptations and sinful pleasures this world offers and turn to chase after Him instead. The part about winter and rain is Him sharing that all the things that once would have kept us away such as guilt or imperfection have gone away and are no longer a hinderance for us in coming to God. In short, God wants you and has taken care of everything that was in the way of you coming to Him. The only thing still left is for us to “arise.” He’s done it all, we must though make the choice to get up out of our sinful ways to follow Him instead. So today, what is God calling you to arise from? What needs to be stepped away from in your life so you can follow Him more closely? God’s made the way open, you just have to walk it. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 848
- As a lily among brambles, so is my love among the young women. Song of Solomon 2:2 – I’ve gotten the chance to see some pretty amazing things with my own eyes. I’ve seen the beauty of the Grand Canyon. I’ve seen the vibrant colors in the hot pools of Yellowstone. I’ve see the layers of mountains in the Great Smokies. I’ve seen the rings of Saturn through a telescope and looked countless nights up at the stars. There are so many other beautiful things in this earth that I haven’t seen as well. Yet, even with all the beautiful things on earth and in Heaven, you know what Jesus choose to love most? Us. Like our passage describes, God’s love for us singles us out amongst all the other things of this world. He didn’t sacrifice Himself to be with the mountains or stars. He gave His all to be with us. Know your value to God. Don’t let anything or anyone else in your story strip away the value your Love has given you. You are worth more than anything to God and He loves you deeply. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1984
Daily DEVO 