Do not look at me, because I am black,
Because the sun has scorched me.
— Song of Songs 1:6
After her fellowship in the king’s chamber, the Shulammite stood out among the daughters of Jerusalem. This happens in your experience when brothers and sisters begin to notice that something has changed and that you are different because of your time with the Lord. However, the seeker’s feeling is, “Do not look at me.” The Shulammite feels she is too ugly to be looked at. She could tell the others about the beauty of the Lord, and she could also tell them about her shamefulness before the Lord, but at this level she knows that she is fallen, black, and vulnerable, so she seeks to remain hidden.
In the King James Version this verse continues, “Because the sun hath looked upon me,” meaning that her shame was due to the Lord’s exposing. The light of the Lord shines like the sun, and you feel tender and exposed after He has done His work. Such a person dares not to be proud. Everyone who lives in such fellowship with the Lord warns others not to take notice of him. When the Lord really looks upon you, you will no longer care about others’ “amens.” You will only live before the Lord and feel responsible to the Lord.
Adapted from The Journey of Life, page 139.
Monday: “Do Not be ‘Spiritual'”