“Tell me, you whom my soul loves,
Where do you pasture your flock?
Where do you make it lie down at noon?
For why should I be like one who veils herself
beside the flocks of your companions?”
—Song of Songs 1:7
Although she feels that she is wandering astray because of her perplexity in the church life, she doesn’t lose sight of the most important principle. This principle is that we must focus on our relationship with the Lord more than we focus on our work, and we should care for nourishment and rest more than we care for work.
The seeker is still regulated by her experience in verses 2 and 3. The Lord has attracted her and captured her by His beauty. Apart from Him, she realizes she cannot have nourishment or rest. Although her attitude about serving caused her to wander astray, she is still able to go on because of her desire for the Lord. If not for this, her Christian life could have been over at this point.
If we have a normal spiritual condition before God, we will not easily be occupied and trapped with work. Instead, we will spend our time seeking the Lord. If at this point we are caught by work, we will not be able to go on in our growth. Only when we fully focus on the Lord are we able to go on spiritually.
Adapted from The Journey of Life, page 143.
Tomorrow: “No Substitutes for the Lord”