Come Out Of The Closet, But Stay In The Shadow. UNITE Linky

“It’s like God is scooting me back, to the outskirts…the shadows of where He is.”

My voice quakes. Riding passenger with my husband. Hesitant, cautious, questioning my theology. Remembering a Bible teacher insisting, “God has no shadow”. Quoting James 1:17…

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”

“But, it’s the only way I can explain it…I feel in His shadow. Like He is tucking me tight, very close behind him.” I went on to explain to my husband.

And in recent months, I have questioned platforms and the praises of man, the kind that swallow people, like Jonah, without them even realizing it…

And how easy it scan be to steal His praises. Shift from God-centered to us-centered…

Unknowingly and ignorantly sinking in quicksands of entitlement, self-righteousness, bitterness, or bewilderment.

That day in my car, I had just confessed sincerely…

“It is all about you Lord…and if you want me in your shadow…push me to the forefront, or call my name to disappear forever…I will be o.k. with that.”

My husband and I talk about faith-giants and legacies. Their focus, God first; justice, humility, service, following His will perfectly…

True, lasting, faith-giants and world-changers never make it about them.

And yet, how many in our culture become the moon, reflecting the light of the sun…without actually coveting the glory that’s meant to be His alone?

In those daily tasks, those ones nobody sees, that’s where He cultivates our hearts, centers our understanding, trains our spirits to abide in Him.

In the quiet of service, making lunches, teaching children, caring for our neighbor, that’s where He tests who and what we are living for.

“In the shadow”, I tell him, strapped to this roller coaster where His grace is sufficient.

It’s all about Him leading, and me humbly being willing to contently trust and follow. “That’s where I think He wants me.”

“It makes sense”, my husband tells me. “When we are in His shadow we are protected, safe, so near Him, everything that happens must go through Him, before it can get to us.”

And I love marriage, because after two decades, a spouse can speak and reflect, what your heart has no words for yet.

Little did my husband know, I went home and googled, “The Shadow of God”.

It’s then when I came across Psalms 91:1…“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.”

“In the shadow”….that’s it!

And I find, the shadow in James 1:17, refers more to how God’s shadow is not shifting, not moving, like Peter Pan chasing His shadow, and yet never quite reaching it.

I read further, realizing, the “Shadow of God” was actually a place of safety, refuge, exactly what my husband had been talking about.

And I wonder how often our theology fails us because we don’t actively listen to what the Spirit of the Lord is saying to His church….

Listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying to us.

His Shadow is protection, like a bird covering it’s offspring with the span of His wing.

And I think about how in the past too frequently, I have slipped into rebellion, let my heart rise and fly, without ensuring His covering…

I mean, let’s face it….It can be easy to go our own way, tip-toeing away from grace, or fall from submitting to where He is leading….

I pick up the Amplified. I want fullness of meaning, clarity of concept.

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will remain secure and rest in the shadow of the Almighty [whose power no enemy can withstand].  ~ Psalms 91:1

And it sink further. There it is! That place where we can rest without defense.

That place where our body’s can relax in the joy found fully in Him.

It’s that place where every child longs to nest….

The secret place, next to the heart of God, abiding, under the shadow of His wing, near the one who says, “no enemy can withstand”.

And I lay my idols again, admit my fears, crucify the lies I have been believing….applying the truth of His protection, provision, and omnipotence to my thinking.

I read further. Omnipotence equaling…the eternal, everlasting refuge of an unshakable God of glory.

I lay my weapons lower still, trusting now, any harm aimed at me must get through His covering first.

And it is there, I am still. Still in His grace that covers me undeserving. Still in rest waiting, content in the Shadow of His omnipotence and mercy…

A few weeks ago, at Rich Faith Rising, we talked about how necessary it for Christians to come out of our closets of shame; not fearful to speak His name, living boldly and unashamed of the gospel. (Read the post & watch my most recently Vlog about it HERE)

However, it is vital we must too stay in the covering of His presence. Tucked in tight, next to The One who called and made each of us.

• It’s there we find grace, mercy.
• It’s there where no flesh can glory, in the shadow of His wings.
• It’s there where man’s purposes fail us, yet His grace is sufficient…
• It’s there where no weapon formed against us will prosper, and the enemy can’t devour us.
• It’s there where His glory dwells. His peace prevails. His love overshadows us…

It’s in Him, and Him simply, we find everything we need. The Shadow of the Almighty.

Have you experienced being near Him, abiding in His Shadow, recently?