Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” If you say, “The LORD is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent. Psalm 91:1,2; 9,10 NIV
When the shadows fall over the land, we can either feel security or fear. There are so many stories about our reactions to shadows that one blog post would not do it justice. There are times when shadows have caused people frightening experiences when they did not realize that tree branches and plastic bags caught on branches can give the allusion of something else that is far more sinister than what it is.
And then there are times when dangerous acts have been defeated because of the shadows alerting others of the dangers contrived by those who are evil.
But there is security in the knowledge that those of us who believe that the shadow of the Almighty is with us, daily. We can trust in the security of that shadow knowing that nothing by any means shall harm us when we dwell in His presence.
I started to title this post, shadow boxing–because that is what many of us do when we’re trying to overcome mindsets that keep us from enjoying the benefit of belonging to God. We feel we must always fight back–boxing our imaginary opponent that only exists in our heads–and yet we never win. Though shadow boxing has its benefits for those who are training to be boxers, there is no win since we are actually boxing our own shadow. And every time we move–in the right conditions for shadows to exist–the shadow moves and looms larger than we are.
So, too does God’s shadow–loom so much larger than we are and therefore we can trust Him to protect us. If we truly understood what dwelling in the shadow of His presence meant, we would indeed–fear no evil that conspires against us. We would boldly travel the paths He sets before us and not concern ourselves with the mediocrity that attempts to distract us. His shadow–on every side–because He is Light and where there is Light, His shadow is present.
Remember–when Peter passed by some and those who were enveloped in his shadow were healed. David said though the shadow of death was always present, he would not fear any evil coming upon him.
We do not have to fear shadows–unless we are in the wrong place for all the wrong reasons. Living in God’s shadow–we are fully protected and have no need to fear.
maryhallrayford 