Living in God's Shadow

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There are some things that are good in God that otherwise aren’t…like, for example, bearing a yoke, being the least of these, and or living in the shadows.

In the Lord, a yoke is good and easy. Being least is a quality of humility and selfless love that gives Him glory. And living in the shadows…well, it depends on whose shadow we’re talking about.

Generally, to live in someone’s shadow is to have your own person and accomplishments overlooked because another person is greater, bigger, or more noticeable. Younger siblings hear about this often –“you have a lot to live up to in the shadow of your big sister!”

But living in the shadow of God is quite the opposite.

We read over and over again in Scripture, particularly in Psalms, about taking refuge in the shadow of His wings.

What’s so different about this shadow?

The shadow of His wings is…

1. A Metaphor for His Guidance

We first read about being under God’s “wings” in Deuteronomy 32:11 in the song of Moses. The words come as a part of the tale of how God guided and cared for Moses.  

“Like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them aloft.”

Have you seen how an eagle cares for its young and teaches them to fly? Eagles hover over their children, keeping them close and safe. Stirring them up, eagles encourage their children to fly but they never leave them. Their young are always in the shadow of their wing and are caught and carried when they grow weary or falter.

2. A Picture of His Presence

“I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings.” –Psalm 61:4

What is His tent? What is the shelter of His wings? The place of God’s presence. A place that is eternal and that is a refuge. The Hebrew word for refuge here is “chasah” and is also translated “my trust.”

I will put my trust in the shelter of your wings, the Psalmist says. I will, as chasah means, confide in your presence and trust in you for safety, we read.

Based on the word chasah, we know that taking refuge in the shadow of His wings calls us to go aside from our usual places of fear and self and this world to the place of hoping and resting fully in Him.  

3. An Example of His Protection

In Psalm 91:4, we read that: “He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.”

To be in the Lord’s presence, close to Him and relying on Him, means that you are wholly protected. You are covered as by a shield, and He’s got your back too:

“Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.” –Psalm 63:7

Worthy of our praise and giving us the peace that we are indeed safe from all harm, we find ourselves in such joy that we sing. When we’re under His watchful, faithful covering, we have reason and space to sing!

4. A Description of a Loving Relationship with the Lord

His guarding us and keeping us close isn’t mere obligation or instinct. The Lord’s love is far more perfect and sweet than that.

As the Psalmist wrote: “Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings.” –Psalm 17:8

Just one verse earlier God is praised for His “lovingkindness.” Psalm 36:7 phrases it this way: “How priceless is your unfailing love, O God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.”

Living in the shadows, or rather, someone else’s shadow, isn’t so bad when the shadow is the Lord’s. He is greater. The shadow He casts isn’t one we’ll ever measure up, and His isn’t over-reaching.

We find the guidance, safety, hope, joy, and the love that we need to be who we are in the Lord when we are in His presence –and to be in His presence is to be in His shadow, under His wing.

Hebrews 12:9 reminds us: “Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live!” To be under His wing is to be in His care, treated as one of His young.

Though pride tells us we know how to fly and protect ourselves, God knows better. God knows the best place for us is in His presence, under His wing –even though that means giving up control and pride…

“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you.” –James 4:7-8 

There’s no better place to be. 

This post is being shared on: #TestimonyTuesday, #RaRaLinkup, Intentionally Pursuing,Titus2sday, Esther Girl, Thought-Provoking Thursday, and Faith-Filled Friday.

Exaggerations and Expectations

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Exaggerations and Expectations

The fish was thiiiiiiiiis big. I'll die if that happens. You're the best person in the world. You can be anything you want to be. And everyone lived happily ever after. Or so the story goes...

We exaggerate. A ton. It's in our nature. Even Eve did it. In Genesis 2:17, God commanded Adam "not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” When the serpent prompted Eve, saying "Did God really say?," Eve added to the command that they must not even touch the fruit. 

When Eve exaggerated, even just that little bit, she also distorted God's expectations. Suddenly, Eve determined that God wouldn't just kill her if she ate it, He would end her life if she even touched it. God seemed even more unfair, making it even easier for Satan to further twist Eve's understanding of God and His will.

Isn't this how it still goes? We know that Satan is a liar. But we forget that exaggeration is a type of lying. Which means we forget that Satan will use exaggeration to shake us up and make us question God and what God expects of us.

Think about some of the ways that exaggeration is used to warp our view of the Lord and His will. From example, how we read "wives submit to your own husbands" and somehow think all women have to submit to all men. There are plenty of spiritual and social ramifications borne of that exaggeration.

Or, consider how often we determine that God's Word is an exaggeration, like when we say that God's consistent condemnation of sexual immorality is outdated or intended only for a certain generation, instead of being absolute. We even add clauses and carefully debate the definition of terms like sexual immorality to change the expectations God has set for us.

Yet God is clear on the matter: "Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it" (Deuteronomy 4:2).  "As for God, His way is perfect; the Word of the Lord proves true" (2 Samuel 22:31).

When we trust in the Lord -the person of the Lord as revealed through His Word, Work, and the Holy Spirit- we don't need to exaggerate to know what to do, to justify ourselves, or to understand God. And when we forget that and let those little, tiny inflations alter our view, our vision gets cloudy. 

A lot of other things do too:

It's easy for us to feel like God isn't holding up His end of the bargain when we add to His promises -like when we slap a deadline on His provision.

Likewise, it's easy for us to feel like we can't live up to God's expectations of us when we make them so much harder for ourselves or make God so much meaner and less gracious than He is.

Add in the times that we exaggerate the power God that has given to Satan or to us, making God small and our problems looking reaaallly huge.

Or, the instances in which we miss out on blessings and spiritual opportunities because we assume God's Word is exaggerated, so we gossip and swear until our witness is nil.

The world isn't too big. Our sin isn't too much. His expectations aren't too high. 

And the Lord isn't too small. His Word isn't too loose or confined by the times. And we aren't too broken or unrighteous to be redeemed by His blood.

Isn't that good news? 

"let them come to me for refuge;

let them make peace with me,

yes, let them make peace with me." -Isaiah 27:5

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." -John 14:27

"Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you." -2 Thessalonians 3:16