From Lettie Cowman's "Streams in the Desert" February 2nd...
"In the shadow of His hand He hid me..." ~Isaiah 49:2
"In the shadow. We must all go there sometimes. The glare of the daylight is too brilliant; our eyes become injured, and unable to discern the delicate shades of color, or appreciate the neutral tints--the shadowed chamber of sickness, the shadowed house of mourning, the shadowed life from which the sunlight has gone. But fear not! It is the shadow of God's hand. He is leading thee. There are lessons that can be only learned there...He is only keeping thee close till the moment comes when He can send thee most swiftly and surely on some errand in which He will be glorified..."
I've been reading through Piper's The Swans Are Not Silent series...the biographies of Augustine, Luther, Calvin, Bunyan, Cowper, Brainerd, Newton, Simeon, Wilberforce, Athanasius, Owen, Machen, Tyndale, Paton, and one of my favorites...Adoniram Judson.After spending 17 months in a Burmese prison, Judson's wife Anne died in 1826, then his daughter Maria in 1827. He learned that his father had died just months earlier. Judson sank into a deep, sorrow-filled darkness...
The death of Judson's brother in 1829 was a turning point though as he learned that his brother who had rejected Christ 17 years prior, died in faith. And so began Judson's climb out of the darkness. Piper comments that in the year that followed, Judson experienced, "the greatest outpouring of spiritual interest across the land." Judson wrote, "The spirit of inquiry...is spreading everywhere, through the whole length and breadth of the land." Piper asks, "Is that coincidence? Or is that a God-ordained pattern for spiritual breakthrough in a dark and unreached place?"
Every single "Swan" biography describes times of sorrow and darkness. Every single one of those godly men faced real pain and fear and sadness. Every one of them knew what it was to live life "in the shadow".
We know many who are living "in the shadow" right now.
They are facing death or pain or betrayal or fear or loss.
We have lived "in the shadow" too. And sometimes return to it.
It's a hard place to be.
But in the shadow of God's hand is an unexplainable closeness to His heart.
And the "nearness of God is my good" (Psalm 73).
We recently agreed to work our way through memorizing a series of Foundation Verses with the Hanson family. We started memorizing them when the kids were little, but didn't make it all the way through and definitely don't remember much. Basically...they are just 72 "key verses". If we have 40 down by spring break, we're all going roller skating.
http://www.desiringgod.org/Store/OtherMerchandise/ByTopic/All/699_Foundation_Verse_Pack/m
I love that they are short so I actually spend time thinking about them.
This morning they brought a beautiful light into the shadows...
So...for those who are "living in the shadow" right now...here are all four of the verses for this week...and my prayer is that you will feel the nearness of God and the depth of His love.
"Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." (Ps. 119:105)
"In quietness and in trust shall be your strength." (Is. 30:15)
""Every word of God proves true; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him." (Prov. 30:5)
"Fear not, for I am with you." (Is. 43:5)
