we are becoming beautiful to the Lord Jesus and terrifying to the enemy!

What God desires to obtain today is the overcomers, the mighty ones, those who overcome His enemy today to bring in His kingdom. In Song of Songs we see that the mighty ones are “as beautiful as Tirzah, as lovely as Jerusalem, as terrible as an army with banners” (S. S. 6:4, 10).

As we grow in life and mature, as we advance in the divine romance with the Lord, we become the overcoming lover of Christ one with God to be His dwelling place. As such ones, we are beautiful in God’s eyes and terrible toward the enemy.

On the one hand we’re the city of God to maintain His interest and bring in His kingdom, and on the other hand we are the armies of God to defeat and terrify the enemy.

Beautiful and Lovely Yet Also Terrible!

This is quite a contrast, being beautiful yet terrible, lovely yet terrifying!

As we advance in the divine romance by daily living in the divine history within the human history, we become not only an enclosed garden for the Lord’s delight but also a city and an army.

We become the troops of God, the armies of God, with many banners – we don’t fight FOR victory but we fight from victory and to maintain and proclaim this victory.

To the Lord, we are lovely, loveable, and beautiful – we are His bride, His counterpart, the one without any spots, wrinkles, or any sign of imperfection. But to the enemy, as the overcoming lover of Christ we are terrible and terrifying!

We are both the loving bride of Christ and the overcoming and terrifying armies of God!

Warfare Always Accompanies the Building

Song of Songs 6:10 says, “Who is this woman who looks forth like the dawn, as beautiful as the moon, as clear as the sun, as terrible as an army with banners?”

If we consider also Neh. 4:17 and Matt. 16:18 we will see that where the building is, there is the battle. The people of Israel were building with one hand and holding a weapon for fighting in the other.

Fighting always accompanies the building, and the building always brings in the victory in the battle.

When we give ourselves to the Lord to be built up with the saints where the Lord has placed us, there’s always a battle. Building is not “for free”, it is not cheap, and it is not without struggle and battle.

But we are in God’s army, part of God’s city, and we stand in Christ’s victory to build up the Body of Christ and defeat the enemy! What the enemy is frightened of and what he fights to make sure it doesn’t happen is the church built up as the city of God (see Neh. 6:15-16; Psa. 102:12-16).

But we as the mighty-ones-wanna-be’s and the overcomers-to-be are those who learn to be one with God and pray,

Lord, build up Your church! Fortify, edify, strengthen, and uplift the church to become the city of God! Get the city in our church life today that You may defeat Your enemy and bring in Your kingdom!

In Ezek. 37:2-10 we see the dry bones over which the Lord speaks and they come alive – they are formed as an army. As soon as the Lord’s breath of life comes into us, as soon as we receive the word of life, we are formed into God’s army, God’s building, the city of God.

Here in His city God dwells, lives, has His kingdom, and here He fights and defeats His enemy!

Lord, I Love You More Than Life Itself!

Don’t think that it is impossible to overcome. Don’t look at yourself, your situation, your family life or your church life, and shake your head in disbelief…. Look to the Lord!

We can overcome the enemy by the precious and effective blood of the Lamb (Rev. 12:11). We overcome the enemy by the word of our testimony! Speak the Word of God, make the Word of God your testimony, and the enemy will flee!

Also, we overcome the enemy by NOT loving our soul-life even unto death. Don’t listen to the lie of the enemy who still speaks today as he spoke of Job, “All a man has he will give in exchange for his soul-life”.

Yes, you may feel that right now you love your soul life in your natural man. But as we love the Lord and we open to Him, the outcome of our personal history in the divine history is that we will love the Lord more than life itself! And this will be so normal! We will tell the Lord with all of our heart,

Lord, I love You! I love You more than my life itself! My soul-life is nothing compared to Your value, Your worth, and Your all-inclusiveness!

Today we are in this process – in this divine romance – in the divine history within the human history, where we have the attitude that we love the Lord more than our soul life.

We choose to enjoy the Lord and not our soul-life and its pleasures, lusts, and desires. Slowly, daily, little by little, day by day, month by month, and year by year, the Lord will gain us as His city, His Bride, His overcoming army.

This WILL HAPPEN, and this will terrify the enemy! Our not loving our soul-life even unto death is scary to the enemy!

Satan is afraid of only one kind of people – those who do not love their soul-life (see Rev. 12:11; Matt. 16:25-26).

On the cross, Christ created the one new man, and now we are part of the new man, the overcoming bride of Christ, standing in Christ’s victory and overcoming the enemy to bring in God’s kingdom!

Hallelujah, we’re becoming beautiful to God and terrifying to the enemy!

Lord, we love You! We really love You! Increase our love for You and take us on with You in the divine romance until we become the city of God. Lord, uplift and strengthen the church to be not only the house of God but also the city of God! Gain many who apply the blood of the Lamb to overcome the enemy! Lord, strengthen our speaking of the word of our testimony! And, Lord, we want to love You with our best love, even love You more than our soul-life! Gain Your mighty ones!

References and Further Reading

• Sharing inspired from portions in Life and Building as Portrayed in the Song of Songs (chs. 6, 12), and, Crystallization-study of Song of Songs (msgs. 7, 12), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallization-Study of the Minor Prophets, week 6 (entitled, The Descent of the Mighty Ones).
• Hymns on this topic:
  # An army terrible with banners / Christ’s lovers overcome to be. / Those attracted by His beauty, / Fully trusting in His power.
  # The vict’ry’s won! O Christian brothers, / The vict’ry’s won! This shout we raise!
  # Lord, daily change my inward being / Lord, all my heart possessing / In all my being—transforming / To be Your bride and queen.