Yesterday, I found myself pondering on Psalm 91:1 in prayer. It was one of those prayer times where this thought leads to another thought which leads to this verse which leads to a worship chorus which leads me to another verse....stream of consciousness type of praying! It can seem so, soooo random! I didn't mean to end up on Psalm 23 but I streamed my way to it. Like I said, it all started with my meditation on Psalm 91:1, which says:
He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I love the imagery of this verse! What a beautiful picture that it paints: dwelling in the secret place of God, abiding under his shadow. Doesn't it just project safety, security, and belonging? I don't think it's coincidence that the Psalm proceeding 91 opens with the words, "Lord, YOU have been our dwelling place in all generations (Ps 90:1)." The very secret place we are invited to dwell in is God himself. The secret, the mystery hidden in God from generations past is Christ, the Messiah...and us IN him. HE is our dwelling place. He has invited me to live with him, in him, so comfortably and intimately that He is my home. Think of that! If my husband goes on a trip and leaves me at home, I may remain in our physical house...but I don't feel at home without him near. We know each other so well, we share our lives and the inner workings of our heart together so much that no matter where we are, as long as we're together...we're home. We are inseparable! And that's exactly what dwelling in the secret place is like. I'm walking so close to God, that his shadow covers me.
This made me think of another passage on dwelling and a shadow (see how stream of consciousness prayer works?). Song of Songs 2:3b:
Like an apple tree...so is My Beloved...I sat down in his shade with great delight...
There is a whole lot of truth in this verse that I love to chew on. But in yesterday's prayer time, I let my conscious stream float on the current of sitting down in his shade. Jesus is like the apple tree in the woods, the tree that produces fruit that sustains my soul. But he also provides me a place of rest, a place to come and relax away from the noonday sun; a place where I can plop myself down and experience great delight! This delight is simply being near Him and, oh, what being near him provides for my soul! Here under this shadow, he delivers me from striving (Psalm 18:43), he brings fullness of joy and unending pleasures (Psalm 16:11)! I mean, what could be better than FULL joy and UNENDING pleasure?!? But it all comes from resting in His presence. Truly, his nearness is my good (Psalm 16:2). Do you see how this deeply parallels Psalm 91:1? The apple tree and the secret place are one in the same to me: it is Christ and his finished work...and it is here where I love to abide right under God's shadow.
While riding down this stream, I came to Psalm 23:4:
Yes, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me.
All of these verses, Song of Songs 2:3, Psalm 90:1 & 23:4, have something in common: they all refer to a shadow. But Psalm 23:4 refers to a much different shadow - Death's shadow! This isn't the 'sit under a tree and soak in glory shadow'...nope. It's Death's shadow. I mean, those 2 words paint a totally, bone chilling picture, don't they? It's like the title to a horror movie or a really cheesy mystery novel: Death's Shadow! Not exactly the painting you'd have hanging over your mantle.
But the thought hit me while pondering this conglomerate of thoughts yesterday: if I am abiding under GOD'S shadow, won't death's shadow become, well...overshadowed? I mean, think about it. Here I am walking under the shadow of the Almighty God when all of the sudden I'm in a valley where a lesser shadow tries to cast it's shade on me. What can death's shadow do when God's shadow is present? The only way I can walk into the valley of the shadow of death and NOT FEAR is if He is with me. But here's the next thought: it's really only those who have learned to rest under the apple tree, to kick their shoes off and dwell in His NEARNESS who will walk into that valley, and not be afraid. The mystery of dwelling in the secret place is that you can walk into a war zone, you can wrestle with death itself and not be afraid. Why? Because you've discovered rest; you've discovered rivers of pleasure and unending joy; you've discovered the secret place...right under God's shadow. And God's shadow? It's bigger than the valley, it's bigger than the universe, it's bigger than eternity. It's overshadows all things.
My journey on this stream was almost over, but I still had one more stop. It's the account of Mary conceiving Jesus in Luke 1:26-35. As the angel comes to Mary, he tells her to not fear but to rejoice! She was going to give birth to God's son! Of course, Mary wonders how such a thing could happen since she was still a virgin. And what does the angel tell her? Verse 35:
The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Highest will overshadow you...
Now, for all my theologian friend's out there I know there's a heap of stuff in the Greek we could study here and I know it's all good (just read Dutch Sheets book Intercessory Prayer for some insight on this verse!). But this is where my little stream brought me to yesterday: if I am resting under the shadow of the Almighty, the greatest, biggest shadow to ever exist, then His shadow will always overshadow any situation that presents itself. In short, the supernatural will overtake the natural; the greater will overshadow the lesser. This overshadowing will always take what man says is impossible and make it reality. Just like what God did for Mary. He walked her into the valley of the shadow of the impossible and said, 'Oh, don't worry about that shadow. Look - MY shadow will overshadow you!' So it doesn't matter if I walk into the valley of the shadow of death because I am overshadowed! His nearness is my good! His shade brings great delight even in the presence of my enemies. My home is the Living God...the LIVING God...so death is overshadowed and swallowed up in Life. I will fear no evil, for God is with me and I'm walking so close to him, I'm like his shadow! Aaaahhhh...what a stream of pleasure this stream of consciousness prayer time was!
Streams, rivers....that makes me think of the Spirit being the river of living water in me...
He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I love the imagery of this verse! What a beautiful picture that it paints: dwelling in the secret place of God, abiding under his shadow. Doesn't it just project safety, security, and belonging? I don't think it's coincidence that the Psalm proceeding 91 opens with the words, "Lord, YOU have been our dwelling place in all generations (Ps 90:1)." The very secret place we are invited to dwell in is God himself. The secret, the mystery hidden in God from generations past is Christ, the Messiah...and us IN him. HE is our dwelling place. He has invited me to live with him, in him, so comfortably and intimately that He is my home. Think of that! If my husband goes on a trip and leaves me at home, I may remain in our physical house...but I don't feel at home without him near. We know each other so well, we share our lives and the inner workings of our heart together so much that no matter where we are, as long as we're together...we're home. We are inseparable! And that's exactly what dwelling in the secret place is like. I'm walking so close to God, that his shadow covers me.
This made me think of another passage on dwelling and a shadow (see how stream of consciousness prayer works?). Song of Songs 2:3b:
Like an apple tree...so is My Beloved...I sat down in his shade with great delight...
There is a whole lot of truth in this verse that I love to chew on. But in yesterday's prayer time, I let my conscious stream float on the current of sitting down in his shade. Jesus is like the apple tree in the woods, the tree that produces fruit that sustains my soul. But he also provides me a place of rest, a place to come and relax away from the noonday sun; a place where I can plop myself down and experience great delight! This delight is simply being near Him and, oh, what being near him provides for my soul! Here under this shadow, he delivers me from striving (Psalm 18:43), he brings fullness of joy and unending pleasures (Psalm 16:11)! I mean, what could be better than FULL joy and UNENDING pleasure?!? But it all comes from resting in His presence. Truly, his nearness is my good (Psalm 16:2). Do you see how this deeply parallels Psalm 91:1? The apple tree and the secret place are one in the same to me: it is Christ and his finished work...and it is here where I love to abide right under God's shadow.
While riding down this stream, I came to Psalm 23:4:
Yes, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me.
All of these verses, Song of Songs 2:3, Psalm 90:1 & 23:4, have something in common: they all refer to a shadow. But Psalm 23:4 refers to a much different shadow - Death's shadow! This isn't the 'sit under a tree and soak in glory shadow'...nope. It's Death's shadow. I mean, those 2 words paint a totally, bone chilling picture, don't they? It's like the title to a horror movie or a really cheesy mystery novel: Death's Shadow! Not exactly the painting you'd have hanging over your mantle.
But the thought hit me while pondering this conglomerate of thoughts yesterday: if I am abiding under GOD'S shadow, won't death's shadow become, well...overshadowed? I mean, think about it. Here I am walking under the shadow of the Almighty God when all of the sudden I'm in a valley where a lesser shadow tries to cast it's shade on me. What can death's shadow do when God's shadow is present? The only way I can walk into the valley of the shadow of death and NOT FEAR is if He is with me. But here's the next thought: it's really only those who have learned to rest under the apple tree, to kick their shoes off and dwell in His NEARNESS who will walk into that valley, and not be afraid. The mystery of dwelling in the secret place is that you can walk into a war zone, you can wrestle with death itself and not be afraid. Why? Because you've discovered rest; you've discovered rivers of pleasure and unending joy; you've discovered the secret place...right under God's shadow. And God's shadow? It's bigger than the valley, it's bigger than the universe, it's bigger than eternity. It's overshadows all things.
My journey on this stream was almost over, but I still had one more stop. It's the account of Mary conceiving Jesus in Luke 1:26-35. As the angel comes to Mary, he tells her to not fear but to rejoice! She was going to give birth to God's son! Of course, Mary wonders how such a thing could happen since she was still a virgin. And what does the angel tell her? Verse 35:
The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Highest will overshadow you...
Now, for all my theologian friend's out there I know there's a heap of stuff in the Greek we could study here and I know it's all good (just read Dutch Sheets book Intercessory Prayer for some insight on this verse!). But this is where my little stream brought me to yesterday: if I am resting under the shadow of the Almighty, the greatest, biggest shadow to ever exist, then His shadow will always overshadow any situation that presents itself. In short, the supernatural will overtake the natural; the greater will overshadow the lesser. This overshadowing will always take what man says is impossible and make it reality. Just like what God did for Mary. He walked her into the valley of the shadow of the impossible and said, 'Oh, don't worry about that shadow. Look - MY shadow will overshadow you!' So it doesn't matter if I walk into the valley of the shadow of death because I am overshadowed! His nearness is my good! His shade brings great delight even in the presence of my enemies. My home is the Living God...the LIVING God...so death is overshadowed and swallowed up in Life. I will fear no evil, for God is with me and I'm walking so close to him, I'm like his shadow! Aaaahhhh...what a stream of pleasure this stream of consciousness prayer time was!
Streams, rivers....that makes me think of the Spirit being the river of living water in me...
Maybe this stream wasn't so random after all.
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