Shadow and Light

He reveals the deep things of darkness and brings utter darkness into the light (Job 12:22).

One evening, I was standing outside my back patio, waiting for my fur-baby to potty, when I noticed that the light streaming from the house was casting an elongated and distorted shadow of me onto the lawn. Brandi quickly noticed and began barking as my shadow moved. Just then these words from Psalm 23 came to mind, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me” (Verse 4 KJV).

The “shadow of death” had always puzzled me. The Psalmist did not say, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of death, I will fear no evil…” What then was the meaning of the “shadow?”

What is a shadow? It is a dark area or distorted shape produced by a body or object coming between rays of light and a surface. Like my elongated and intimidating shadow that frightened Brandi, the enemy of our soul always looms larger and fiercer to create fear and dominance. As I watched her react to the shadowy image, I heard in my spirit, “I Am the Light that uncovers and shines on what is hidden in the dark.”

The Apostle John said, “God is light.” There is no darkness in Him, for He is light itself (I John 1:5). All light comes from Him; it is His very nature and character. His light is always present to reflect and expose what is hidden in the dark. He uncovers deep things out of darkness and “brings the shadow of death to light” (Job 12:22 NKJV). For “nothing is hidden, except for the purpose of having it revealed, and nothing is secret, except for the purpose of having it come to light” (Mark 4:22 ISV).

Let us re-examine these words, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil…” The word “through” means to move or travel from one side and out through the other side. We are given the assurance that God is with us as we pass through the “valley” and come out the other side.

A “valley” is a low area of land between hills or mountains, typically with a river or stream flowing through it. Though we may pass through the valleys (trials), God provides us with continual refreshing from His River of Living Waters, which is His Holy Spirit.

God’s presence is always with us, for His rod and staff comfort us. The rod is a symbol of discipline and correction and the staff represents the instrument used to bring stray sheep back to the fold. Jesus, the Great Shepherd, defends and disciplines His sheep with His rod. And when we, His sheep, wander or stray, He guides us back with His staff.

There have been times when I felt that God was ignoring my pleas for help. However, I was forgetting a basic truth. No matter what we go through, or how long we remain in a valley, we determine our length of stay by what we focus on. Are we focusing on the shadowy problems and circumstances, or do we have our minds firmly fixed on God’s truths?

As we walk throughthe valley, God calls us to stop, bend down, and drink deeply of His living water, so that we may become renewed for the journey through the valley. It is by the sweet and refreshing living water, that He invites us to rest, spend time with Him, and listen as He encourages, teaches, corrects, and guides.

Why does God allow us to pass through valleys? He does it to reveal areas of weakness in our armour. For His Word tells us, “Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil (Ephesians 6:10-11 KJV).

We must diligently wear the whole armour of God so we are battle-ready, for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, powers, and rulers of this dark world. Only in wearing the full armour of God, can we stand our ground, with our waist buckled with the truth of God’s Word, our breastplate of righteousness in place and our feet shod with the gospel of peace. Above all, we must take our shield of faith to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one (Ephesians 6:12-18).

The Apostle Paul likened the fiery darts of our spiritual enemies with physical enemies, who wrapped the tips of their arrows with fabric that had been soaked in flammable fluids, for the purpose of burning hot and long. As a defence, Roman soldiers soaked their shields with water, so that when the fiery darts (arrows) were fired against the wet shields, the water extinguished the flames. Likewise, when our faith is Word-saturated, like a soldier’s water-saturated shield, the fiery darts of the enemy are quickly extinguished.

We wear our helmet of salvation as we carry the sword of the Spirit, which is God’s Word. The helmet was the soldier’s final piece of armour added to show readiness for combat. Our assurance of salvation and God’s promises give us faith to enter the battle.

Satan may cast his shadow, but God’s light is ever present to uncover what is hidden in the dark. However, when He uncovers the hidden things, are we battle-ready and prepared to defend our ground? Rest assured, the enemy is looking for a flaw in our armour. Therefore, we must be equipped with the full armour of God and His Word ready on our lips.

PRAYER:  LORD, thank you that Your light exposes what is hidden in the dark. You refresh my soul and illuminate my steps. Help me prepare myself with Your Word and put on the armour of God, so I may stand against the enemy’s flaming arrows. In Jesus name, amen.