The Song of Destiny 2: How to FInd God’s Will for Your Life

In the last post we laid the ground work for discovering God’s will for your life. In this and future posts we’ll explore each character role in discovering our destiny.

Shulamite- The Shulamite was a shepherd girl from Shunem who was betrothed to the love of her life who was also a shepherd. When Solomon was returning from his summer palace in Megiddo he aparently was taken by her beauty, and tried to woo her with promises of wealth, and security. When he was unsuccessful in his first attempt he took her to Jerusalem to try to overwhelm her with His regal splendor.

Throughout the entire process the Shulamite carefully guarded her heart, and stuck to what she knew was right. There are many valuable lessons we can learn from this narrative let’s look at what made this young lady so special.

Her Love was deeper than some flashy worldy mans attention- In Song of Solomon 1:2-4 the Bible says,

“Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is better than wine. Because of the savour of thy good ointments thy name is as ointment poured forth, therefore do the virgins love thee. the king hath brought me into his chambers: we will be glad and rejoice in thee, we will remember thy love more than wine: the upright love thee”

In an effort to woo this young girl Solomon calls her into his tent, and begins his coarse flatteries, and alcoholic beverages. Isn’t funny how the tactics of the world never change? Still to this day worldly people use flattery, and alcohol to lure innocent people into sin. But the Shulamite wasn’t deceived, and states to her Shepherd love, “thy love is better than wine.” You see when we God brings us a relationship that is pure, and holy, and saturated with Agape love no amount of attention from a worldy person will distract us.

Her confidence was in things that matter- In chapter 1 verses 5, and 6 we see that the Shulamite’s confidence was in things that matter, “I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon. Look not upon me, because I am black, because the sun hath looked upon me: my mother’s children were angry with me; they made me the keeper of the vineyards; but mine own vineyard have I not kept.”

Solomon always traveled with a full court, soldiers, advisers, and ladies in waiting, or his court. These women began to make fun of the Shulamite for the dark color of her skin. To which she replied, “I am black, but comely.” In other words she said I may not have the traditional look, but I’m still attractive. These wordly court women had bought into the same lies Satan has been selling for millenia.

Night and day through television, magazines, and the internet Satan communicates to young ladies a certain weight they should be, certain brands they should wear, or, a certain way their face or body should be shaped. This has led to epidemic levels of anorexia, and bulemia, and even drug, and alcohol abuse for those who feel like they just don’t measure up. Nothing could be further from the truth the Bible says we are fearfully, and wonderfully made, God formed us in the womb, and loves us just how he made us. So stop insulting God by denigrating your appearance, and be confident in who you are in Christ.

The Shulamite Goes on to tell the court women that not only was she attractive, but her appearance came by obeying her authority. Her widowed mother, and brothers seeing that her relationship with the Shepherd was moving a little to fast for their taste moved her from shepherding to the vineyard. In obeying her authority she had acquired her tan while doing what God called her to do. Someone who is under authority, sure of their of their calling, and confident of who they are in Christ will always be more attractive then some ditzy, “beauty queen!”

Her dealings were open to scrutiny- In verse 16 of chapter 1 we see that her dealings were open to scrutiny. Oftentimes in a wordly romantic relationship there is a lot of sneaking around as couples are doing things that should be rightfully saved for marriage. However the Shulamite states in verse 16, “Behold, thou art fair, my beloved, yea, pleasant: also our bed is green.” In other words we are not going to hang out in some dark corner, but rather in the open fields where are actions are open to scrutiny. Beware of any relationship, action, or habit that requires secrecy it is probably sinful, because God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. So if your in the dark God is probably not involved.

The Shulamite knew that what she had with the shepherd was right, and thus she was not afraid of scrutiny or accountability. Is your life an open book for your authorities to read, or do you shirk accountability any chance you get?

She Guarded her heart- In chapter 2 verse 7 we see that the Shulamite carefully guarded her heart. Guarding your heart is another way of saying protect your meditations! You can’t just allow yourself to think on anything because your heart is a deceiver (Jer. 17:9), and it can be deceived if you dwell on wrong thoughts.

Lets look at how she guarded her heart verse 7 says, “I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please.” I used to think she was perhaps talking about her shepherd lover sleeping in, but upon closer scrutiny the verse in the Hebrew is completely in feminine gender. So that this verse might be literally translated, “stir not up nor wake the love till she please!” What was she saying? These court women were trying to excite unlawful passions in Her heart for the wordly King.

She was saying I’m sensing that my heart is being deceived, and I won’t allow you to stir up inappropriate meditations in my heart. Plain, and simple she was guarding her heart. Satan, and the world are constantly trying to excite wrong passions, and mediations in our heart we must constantly avoid meditating on wrong things.

She didn’t go on feelings alone but relied on the truth In chapter 6 verse 11 we see that the Shulamite did not rely on her feelings, but rather clung to truth. The Bible says, “I went down into the garden of nuts to see the fruits of the valley, and to see whether the vine flourished and the pomegranates budded. Or ever I was aware, my soul made me like the chariots of Amminadib. Return, return, O Shulamite; return, return, that we may look upon thee. What will ye see in the Shulamite? As it were the company of two armies.” The Shulamite finding herself in Jerusalem far from home decided to venture out into the vineyards, do what she loved to do, and was called to do. You see through the guidance of God, and her authority she had determined that herding sheep, and working in agriculture were her life’s calling.

However while she was pursuing her calling Solomon came upon her suddenly in his chariots, and tried to woo her. She immediately tried to leave to guard her heart. To which he responded, “return!” Solomon tries to make more out of the moment then is there. Satan is that way from time we are little kids he paints for us what I call the “disneyland romance” in other words a romantic love story that causes us to “fall in love.”

As if we didn’t have a choice, and we just fell into a hole or a trap. Love isn’t something you fall into it is a daily choice. A daily choice to yield to God’s agape love for this person, and love even when it’s not “romantic.”

Solomon tried to make this “chance” meeting into something it wasn’t, but the Shulamite didn’t buy it , and responded wisely. She said, I didn’t come out here to the gardens for romance, but rather to pursue my calling. You see this young lady was called of God to be in agriculture, and so you could whisk her away to Jerusalem, but she was more interested in her calling than the coarse flattery, power, and wealth of Solomon.

She was under authority- In Chapter 8 the Shulamite returns home after Solomon realizes she is too virtuous to choose him over God’s best for her life. She immediately returns home, and tries to get her authority to approve the marriage. You see when your in God’s will your life is completely available to your authorities for guidance, and correction. The Shulamite could of said my dad is dead, and your not my boss: to her mother, and brothers. Instead she embraced her authority.

The brother respond to her request for the blessing of her marriage with a question. Are you a door, or a wall? If you are a door then your heart is available to anyone who wants to turn the knob, and have a piece. If you are a wall this means you are virtuous, and your heart is guarded from choices that are less than God’s perfect plan. Isn’t sad how are modern philosophy of dating turns us into doors? We often have given away dozens of pieces of our heart before we actually find God’s perfect mate for our life. The Shulamite could honestly say however that she had guarded her heart from the most powerful man in the land, and saved herself for the shepherd.
The end of this story finds the Shulamite right in the center of God’s will with the full blessing of her authority on her decisions. We can all learn some lessons from the Shulamite, and find God’s best for our life.

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