4/4/15: In the Shadow

#LifeThatMatters

When I drive home from work, I head west into the setting sun. On several stretches of the highway, depending upon the afternoon time, I contend with the glare of the setting sun shining directly into my eyes. The car’s sun visor is no help when the blazing round drops below the extent of its protection. Sunglasses dim the glare a bit, but I find myself still squinting. I resort to holding my hand up until my arm tires. The bumper-to-bumper traffic just prolongs my misery until the sun mercifully dips below the horizon. (You wonder about the length of my commute? I’m on the freeways in Los Angeles. Need I say more?)

Anyway, one day I caught a brief break. Up the lane to my left came a huge luxury travel bus. Once it got beside me, its size blocked out the sun. If I matched the speed of the bus, I could escape the punishment of the sun’s glare by driving in its shadow. When it sped up, I sped up. When it slowed, I slowed. As long as I kept pace with that bus, my misery was avoided and I could see without squinting or trying to supply my own shade.

Psalm 91:1 says, “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty” (NKJ). Until my encounter with the bus, I always thought of this verse as something to be experienced while being still. I pictured myself cuddled up next to God in His shadow as if sitting cross-legged with my back comfortably against a tree trunk and in the shadow of its branches. But what about when I’m moving? Do I give up the comfort of His shadow like I do when I walk away from the tree?

No, the “secret place of the Most High” is an abiding spot that both sits still and moves. The abiding is an attachment that travels with God’s presence just as the tabernacle used to do. The shadow of the cloud by day would move or stay put. My protection from the glaring rays of any hindrance is found as I keep pace with God’s presence. The shadowed place is where He is. When He moves, I move. If I don’t, I will find myself left behind where He wants me to be, and out in the glare. When He stops, I stop. If I don’t, I’ll be running ahead of God, and dog-gone-it, there’s that glare again.

Be it stationary or on the move, let’s abide in God’s cooling, calming shadow. Ahh, what a relief!

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©2015 Sharon Norris Elliott. Feel free to forward this devotion in its entirety, including this copyright line. Leave comments, ask questions, read past devotions, or subscribe to receive these devotions daily in your e-mail at www.sanewriter.wordpress.com. Also, periodically check in at www.LifeThatMatters.net to see what’s going on in the ministry.

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