In the bride’s progression of her spiritual journey she cried out for intimacy with her Beloved, to which He responded by bringing her into His chambers. It is in the chambers where she enjoys and experiences Him in deep spiritual union, but being close to His glory and light also exposes the darkness inside of her. She acknowledges her weaknesses and failures but is ashamed and does not want others to stare at the darkness within her.
This is true for all believers who posture themselves before the light of the Lord’s presence. In His holy presence we are confronted with those areas of our lives where we are still walking contrary to His Word. We are aware of how our old nature has blackened us and feel ashamed when others look at our failures. Most of us try to hide and conceal these areas of our lives, not wanting others to see our weaknesses and old sinful nature. And for fear of judgment from those who would look at the darkness of our lives, we often put on masks and live hoping no one sees who we really are.
Have you ever had a stigma placed on you by someone who could never see where you had matured beyond their first perception? I see this often in both the corporate world and in the church. A person fails to handle a situation in a way that meets everyone’s expectations and the negative behavior is forever retained as the image of who that person is. That person may mature in their character and emotions but still will be overlooked for promotions because they just can’t get free from the stigma. People usually respond in one of two ways to these types of situations; they either begin to see themselves as a loser who will never amount to anything, and give up their pursuits, always living under the perception of other people’s opinions, or they learn to “act” according to the expectations of others. But often in the “acting” they take on yokes that they were not created to carry. They try to become someone they are not while living under the pressure that someone might find out who they really are.
2 Corinthians 5:16-17 says “Therefore, from now on we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” I relate this to the Song of Songs verse in two ways. The first is the challange to view other believers as a new creation; to look beyond their weaknesses and areas where they are still maturing and to love them even as Jesus loves all of us… even in our weakness. We need to search our hearts to see if there are those whom we have placed a stigma upon and have not seen their recent growth and their full potential in the Lord. We need to come along side one another and encourage each other on to greater things in the Kingdom, even though we all fail at times. We need to create an environment in the church where people don’t have to wear a mask for fear of judgment as they are learning to walk out their salvation.
The other application of this verse to our lives is the reality that when sin is exposed in our lives, it is just proof that we are growing in the light! We can take courage that though others may see the un-renewed areas of our lives and those places that have been marred as the consequence of living in a fallen world, but the Lover of our soul sees us as beautiful and lovely. He calls us His own!
Devotional Prayer
Lord, I thank You that you have created me for Yourself, for Your pleasure. You have made me to be Your bride! Thank You that I don’t have to wear a mask any longer, but Your love has set me free from living under the yoke of man’s opinions. You don’t view me through my fallen nature but have made me new. Holy Spirit, I want to walk in Your love and see others according to their new nature so they don’t have to wear a mask around me. Let me see others as You see them!
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