Read: Psalm 91
The walk from our house to the bus stop is about two-tenths of a mile. Not very much, I agree, but it can be pretty boring at times. One sunny morning my son was commenting on the shadows that our bodies were casting on the ground. It was at that point that we decided to play a game. We were to attempt to stay in each other's shadow. You would think that it would be an easy thing to do, but it was not. As long as we walked side by side we could pretty much match each other, so much so that it looked as if we were one person. However, the minute that one of us moved ahead or slowed down, the other person came out from under the shadow.
Reading through Psalm 91, we find an arrangement that at first glance seems like an easy thing to do. "He that dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." As with our shadow game, we are told that we must learn to stay close to the Lord in order to enjoy the benefits of being in His shadow. But oftentimes we are found walking just ahead of the Lord. We have ideas and plans that He has given to us. Instead of waiting on His directions as to how they are to be implemented, we dash off full stride to get the job done.
Conversely, we may also be slow to respond to His voice. Sometimes, because we do not want to do what His Spirit is directing, we either drag our feet, find something else to do that we much more prefer, or totally disobey and find reasons to justify our rebellion. Other times, our failure to know how God speaks individually to us causes us to miss opportunities of being a blessing in the lives of others. Either way, we find ourselves outside of His shadow, the consequence of which can mean personal injury, financial loss, severed relationships, or damaged emotions.
We have been created with the gift of free will. It is our choice whether we surrender control of our lives to the Lord or whether we direct our own steps. It is that very freedom that makes the "shadow game" of Psalm 91 much more difficult than it appears. To stay in the Lord's shadow takes effort on our part. We are to dwell in the secret place with Him. Our lives are to be lived consistently in intimate fellowship with the Lord. Daily we are to spend time in His Word. Daily we need to communicate with Him in prayer. Daily we are to acknowledge our dependency on Him. Then we must be willing to make the adjustments necessary to slow down when we have rushed ahead, or speed up when we are lagging behind. We must be willing to do things that will quite possibly be uncomfortable or may stretch us out of our comfort zone.
But God has promised us that the benefits of staying in His shadow far outweigh the sacrifice that has to be made. The most important benefit of Psalm 91 is a devoted love relationship with our Heavenly Father. The physical blessings are great, but nothing can match the love that the Lord lavishes on His people or the exhilaration of giving our love to Him in return. Let's purpose in our heart that we are going to master the "shadow game" and walk in tandem with the Lord of all Creation. Let's see if we can't walk so closely together that we appear to be one person with Him.
Prayer
Lord, it is my desire to walk closely with You. Show me areas in my life that prevent that from happening and help me to make the necessary adjustments. Amen.
