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Autumn brilliance radiates all around. The leaves exhale their last gasp of summer. Temperatures are dropping, and shadows are lengthening. Winter is coming. Some of us will see very little sunshine over the next four months. Some dread this season because they will experience seasonal affective disorder (SAD).
Shadows at the end of sunny seasons and at the end of the day bring premonitions of death and gloom. A cycle has run its course, and we are reminded that our lives will end at some point as well. We are approaching that “land of darkness and the shadow of death” (Job 10:21, KJV throughout). Our lives are as fleeting as a shadow (Job 8:9).
But Scripture looks at shadows in another way also. Shadows are a place of God’s protection and comfort. While fleeing from Saul, David found refuge in the shadow of God’s wings until his troubles were past (Ps. 57:1). For the helpless and needy, God is “a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat” (Isa. 25:4). Christ is a picture of safety and provision “as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land” (32:2).
Old Testament believers saw only the shadow of things to come. The Messiah was prophesied, but they still sat in darkness.
Then the day broke, and shadows fled away. The great Light appeared. Jesus Christ walked among them. He taught them. He healed them. He fed their bodies and their souls. He comforted them. He said, “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12).
He came to save us from our sins. Dear fellow believer, our precious Savior was the Light Himself, but He had to go through utter darkness to save us. He had to endure three hours of more than the shadow of death. He endured the reality of hell and death. Now He lives so that we might live also. He sits at the right hand of the Father, in the splendor of heaven, interceding for us.
As believers, we can take great comfort from the shadow of God’s wings over us. Let’s bring our troubles and our sadness to Him. Pray, “Hide me under the shadow of thy wings” (Ps. 17:8). Let’s truly believe, “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” (Ps. 23:4). Unbelievers, don’t wish your shadows away. Rather, let them lead you to the Son.
Trust God as William Cowper described in his hymn “God Moves in a Mysterious Way”:
Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy, and shall break
In blessings on your head.