"Wait on the Lord, be of good courage and Wait….”
How many times has this refrain whispered in our ears over the past 19 years?
We Waited through a two-year engagement before experiencing the joy of marriage. A decade of infertility followed as we endured 10 losses to miscarriage and unsuccessful adoption attempts. Then came the bitter surprise of post-partum depression.
Entering our 20th year of living with chronic illness, we’re still Waiting and looking for answers to my daily pain and ongoing loss of abilities.
Have you ever heard someone describe a time of trial as, “living under the shadow of [xyz]”? Plug in some “xyz”s of your own here; maybe cancer, abuse, loneliness…
Job and the Psalmist talk of “the valley of the shadow of death.” Shadows impress a dark picture of gloom and heaviness in my mind.
Hope demands I give shadows another look. God paints shadows in a positive light many times through His Word.
The Psalms sing repeatedly of "taking refuge under the shadow of His wing," or “resting in the shadow of the Almighty.”
Hebrews describes the best of this life (the Lord’s Sanctuary and the Law) as a foretaste, a copy, a shadow of what is to come in Heaven. To God, shadows offer protection and glimmer with Hope.
It took our 2-year-old to really illustrate this point to me:
“Where my shadow go, Mommy?”
“Your shadow is sleeping, Sweetheart. It’s dark because it’s nighttime, but we just need to get you to the potty now. You did a great job waking up to keep your pants dry, so let’s get there quick!”
As we reached the restroom I flipped on the light.
“There my shadow are now Mommy! Thank you Mommy!!!”
He danced a happy jig (almost having an “accident” in the process), all signs of sleepiness erased from his glowing face.
Long after our sweet son was soundly sleeping once again, I lay awake reflecting on the pure joy he found in shadows. While I tried to escapee shadows, he saw them as treasures.
I asked the Lord for strength to see my troubles through more childlike eyes that could delight in, and even thank Him for, the imprints they cast over my life. It was then that I realized that shadows are merely evidenced by light.
What Hope! The more deeply I feel the weight of a shadow fall across my path, the more powerful the source of Light that contrasts with that shadow.
I too often fixate on darkness rather than finding courage to stand in shadows because of the Light flooding around me. Being “helpless” to change my circumstances does not need to equal “hopeless” despair.
Hope can thrive in shadows because of the steady, unshakeable, unmoving Hand of Grace holding me in the light of His love. When trials threaten to overshadow me, I can rest in the refuge of the shadow of His wing.
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.- Isaiah 9:2 (NIV)
Verses that reflect God's sheltering shadows in my life:
“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows” James 1:17. (NIV)
“I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.” Isaiah 45:3. (NIV)
“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned” Isaiah 9:2. (NIV)
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV)
"but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint" Isaiah 40:31. (NIV)
"But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me" Micah 7:7. (NIV)
"We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield" Psalm 33:20. (NIV)
"I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God..." Psalm 40:1-2, (NIV)
“I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of his wrath.
He has driven me away and made me walk in darkness rather than light…
“He has besieged me and surrounded me with bitterness and hardship.
He has made me dwell in darkness like those long dead…
“Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:
Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness…
“For men are not cast off by the Lord forever.
Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love…
“You came near when I called you, and you said, ‘Do not fear.’
O Lord, you took up my case; you redeemed my life…”
- from Lamentations 3 (NIV)
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