Shadows

As I sit by the pond in the late afternoon, the shadows begin to appear.  There is a peace and a smile across my face as I remember the Psalm 17:8 which says,

            “Hide me in the shadow of Your wings.”  My bible’s footnote says that He protects us but also at times has a greater purpose for us to go through the pain, but even then, He protects us by guiding us through the pain or difficulty.  Either way, we are in the shadow of His wings.

            Psalm 91:1 reads,

            “We will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.”  By dwelling with the Lord continually trusting in Him, we can rest and be kept safe in the shadow of the Almighty.

            Then there is Isaiah 51:16, which says, “I have put my words in your mouth and covered you with the shadow of my hand.”  This verse meant a lot to me at the time in my life when I felt convicted to join an evangelism ministry at my church.  This very quiet, non-articulate, afraid of confrontation girl was going to go visit strangers in their home and share the gospel. Sometimes praying with them which was so out of my comfort zone at that time.  But then I read Isaiah 51:16, which said to me that God would put his words in my mouth!

            Here was a huge test for me.  Was I going to trust Him, rest in Him and go forth into the huge “uncomfortable zone?”  Yes, I did.  His promise as all of them, are trustworthy.  He put His words in my mouth every time and I knew from that first outreach visit I could relax, breathe, and totally rest in Him. Satan did not like this and every Monday night just before I would begin my visits, he would put fear into me.  But I just stomped my foot and said that I was a daughter of the King and He was in control.  I would tell that ol’ devil to just flee in the name of Jesus, and he did. I experienced wonderful visits every time.  How freeing to let the fears go and just rest in His shadow while He takes control.

            What fears do you have right now?  If you are feeling uneasy because of circumstances surrounding you, surrender those fears and circumstances to Him.  Let go and let God take control.

            When you are outside, look for the shadows and smile, relax, and know that you are either hidden in the shadow of His wings, or covered with the shadow of His hand, while He guides and lead you through whatever you’re going through.

            And remember, as believers, when our time on this earth comes to an end and we will walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we will fear no evil, and we will be comforted, because we are in the Almighty, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, blessed, beautiful shadow.

“Surely goodness and love will follow me (just like a shadow…),

All the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Psalm 23:6