attitude, comfort zone, God first, Holy Spirit, hope, Jesus, living in fear, mystery, peace, renewal, rest, self help, trust

shelter of the shadow

shelter webShadows are often dark and mysterious.

Most of us prefer direct light that shows things clearly and dispels what could be uncomfortable.

A few years ago when I was feeling a lot of darkness a friend read to me (I should say “declared over me”) Psalm 91. Shadows have never looked the same and I declare this for you today. Freely I have received; freely I give. Read/pray this out loud if you need His shadow.

This painting was done in response.

You who sit down in the High God’s presence,
spend the night in Shaddai’s shadow,
Say this: “God, you’re my refuge.
I trust in you and I’m safe!”
That’s right—he rescues you from hidden traps,
shields you from deadly hazards.
His huge outstretched arms protect you—
under them you’re perfectly safe;
his arms fend off all harm.
Fear nothing—not wild wolves in the night,
not flying arrows in the day,
Not disease that prowls through the darkness,
not disaster that erupts at high noon.
Even though others succumb all around,
drop like flies right and left,
no harm will even graze you.
You’ll stand untouched, watch it all from a distance,
watch the wicked turn into corpses.
Yes, because God’s your refuge,
the High God your very own home,
Evil can’t get close to you,
harm can’t get through the door.
He ordered his angels
to guard you wherever you go.
If you stumble, they’ll catch you;
their job is to keep you from falling.
You’ll walk unharmed among lions and snakes,
and kick young lions and serpents from the path.
“If you’ll hold on to me for dear life,” says God,
“I’ll get you out of any trouble.
I’ll give you the best of care
if you’ll only get to know and trust me.
Call me and I’ll answer, be at your side in bad times;
I’ll rescue you, then throw you a party.
I’ll give you a long life,
give you a long drink of salvation!”
Psalm 91

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shadows

part of a mural
Ahhhhhhhh home……. but something lingers besides bug bites and paint splatters. Something you can’t quite put a finger on…

Our last room of murals needed to be done quickly. We talked about doing non-descript children so those who thought they were not artists (ha!) could help. Silouettes and landscape shadows were perfect for the group effort.

After we decided, I read this in a book by Dutch Sheets on “Intercessory Prayer”.

“God made us so much the same as Himself that it was illusionary. ‘And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them’ (Gen 1:27). The Hebrew word for “image” is tselem which involves the concept of a shadow, a phantom or an illusion.” page 26

Created in His image we are ALL creators too.
Christ in us – His Spirit always with us.