Since I started studying photography, I am constantly looking for photo opportunities, my favorite being trees. Today I was looking at a tree beside a building and I notice that the shadow, like most shadows, was way larger than the tree and distorted. Immediately the 23rd Psalm popped in my head, the part in verse 4 where is says “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death. ” ll these years of hearing that scripture, I thought he was walking through the valley of death, but he was the valley of the SHADOW of death. Then after that part of the scripture, it says “I will fear no evil.” When we walk through the shadow of death, we aren’t actually in danger. We are walking in fear!!! It made me think of the cartoon where the person sees the big scary shadow and gets really afraid and then when they go around the corner, it is a little bitty mouse. I know I have been walking at night and seen a big shadow in front of me and thought someone was behind me and it was actually my own shadow. That is where they get the saying “afraid of your own shadow.”
In the book of Job, many people love to quote the scripture where Job says,
“Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him.” Job is talking about God in this passage saying that God was the one that did those things to him. When in actually, it is obvious in chapter 1 of Job that Satan did that to him. Job was in error when he made that statement and actually repented of it later in Job 42:3-6. Job admitted that he didn’t understand what he was saying. Although it was Satan that did those things to Job, it was his own fear that allowed it to happen. Job 3:25 says “For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me.”
All throughout the Bible, God is telling us to “Fear not”. Fear is the opposite of faith. Jesus said in Matthew 8:26 “ Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.” Also, in Hebrews it says “without faith, it is impossible to please God.” Why is that? God knows that our lives are formed by either our fear or our faith and he loves us and wants the best for us, that is why it pleases Him for us to have faith
A shadow is defined as a dark figure or image cast on the ground or some surface by a body intercepting light. God is light and we see shadows when we allow something to come between us and God.
A shadow is defined as shelter or protection. Psalm 91 says “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.” So we have a choice to allow ourselves to be in the shadow of something in between God and us and allowing fear to come into our lives or to live in the shadow of God’s wings where there is protection and safety.
A shadow is usually magnified or bigger than the actual object. David said in Psalms 34:3 “O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together.” By magnifying the Lord, we don’t make Him any bigger. We only make him bigger in our eyes. When we magnify God, we are simply focusing on Him rather than our circumstances.
So, I want you to ask yourself “Am I going to let that thing that you fear come upon me?” or “Am I going to live by faith and speak to storms and move mountains out of my life and live in God’s shadow of protection and safety and be more than a conqueror?”