OCTOBER 29, 2014
Shadowed
Read: Jeremiah
42:1-12
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? —Psalm 27:1
Someone was shadowing
me. In a darkened hallway, I turned the corner to go up a flight of stairs and
was alarmed by what I saw, stopping dead in my tracks. It happened again a few
days later. I came around the back of a favorite coffee shop and saw the large
shape of a person coming at me. Both incidents ended with a smile, however. I’d
been frightened by my own shadow!
The prophet Jeremiah
talked about the difference between real and imagined fears. A group of his
Jewish countrymen asked him to find out whether the Lord wanted them to stay in
Jerusalem or return to Egypt for safety because they feared the king of Babylon
(Jer. 42:1-3). Jeremiah told them that if they stayed and trusted God, they
didn’t need to be afraid (vv.10-12). But if they returned to Egypt, the king of
Babylon would find them (vv.15-16).
In a world of real
dangers, God had given Israel reason to trust Him in Jerusalem. He had already
rescued them from Egypt. Centuries later, the long-awaited Messiah died for us
to deliver us from our own sin and fear of death. May our Almighty God show us
today how to live in the security of His shadow, rather than in shadowy fears
of our own making.
Trust when your skies are darkening,
Trust when your light grows dim,
Trust when the shadows gather,
Trust and look up to Him. —Anon.
Under
the protecting shadow of God’s wing, the little shadows of life lose their
terror.
Source:
Our Daily Bread 2012