I have waited for the moment to begin this, but now seems quite apt. For it is when in the pit of despair that the soul cries out most for God, and in His very awesomeness, His presence in our lives He answers.
At the Christian Union meeting tonight there was a question posed, asking the three most important things in our lives. All that came into my mind: 1) Father, 2) Son, 3) Spirit. Because... without God, what is life? It's nothingness disappears into the abyss, completely lost, and pointless. Yet that relationship, that trinity that is visible in the Creator's creation, without relation to God, there is no purpose or design, without relation to others, God's design cannot be encouraged, and edified (though there are half a hundred words to describe this). The point is, we need, and desire primarily God, and secondly God's creation. Without the first, the second becomes distorted and destroyed, without the second - yes there is survival - but without the second the first has such little poignance.
This is all an aside. When we are hurt and weak, God moves, regardless of whether we see or not, He moves. My life recently has been a flurry of bad events, trying to see God through them has been hard. Recently I've come to the realisation (though my own reflection, and the insight of trusted friends) that I'm alright, even if things are bad, and upsetting, that's fine, because I KNOW God is there, I'm not going to try to not know that, I could never get back to that, I tried it for a time, almost destroyed me!
Yet with God through all of it, how ever dark it gets, there is such light, a light that can never be overshadowed or overcome. A light that has won victory over darkness, over death, over sin, all for me, and in my place. Deny that... and deny life.
At some point in this post I was also going to get the point that God made to me earlier. A little time ago, a friend of mine did a study that really spoke. He talked about resting the shadow of God. Now that sounds like quite a challenging phrase to understand, I currently forget his talk on it, but I felt like it was something I needed to know again. I was inspired to read Genesis 19 earlier... I got to verse eight "unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof." For Lot, these 'men' who had come under the shadow of his roof meant he had a right to protect them above all others, above his own family. This began me thinking, if Lot, a sinful man, would protect strangers above his daughters because they dwelt in his shadow, if we dwell in the shadow of God, how much protection and safety do we have? In the shadow of God, we are safer than than if we were anywhere else. Psalm 91 "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. he shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler." There, firmly secured within the Old Testament Psalms is that beautiful imagery we see in Ephesians 6, the belt of truth.
Above all, we must trust God. His protection is above the snares, against the arrows, beyond darkness and behind Him, in His shadow. Live in the shadow of the Almighty, dwell in God.
