Moving Shadows

 

Monday, March 21, 2022

I said to myself, “I will watch what I do and not sin in what I say.  I will hold my tongue when the ungodly are around me.”  But as I stood there in silence—not even speaking of good things—the turmoil within me grew worse.  The more I thought about it, the hotter I got, igniting a fire of words:  “Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be.  Remind me that my days are numbered—how fleeting my life is.  You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand.  My entire lifetime is just a moment to you; at best, each of us is but a breath.” Interlude

We are merely moving shadows, and all our busy rushing ends in nothing.  We heap up wealth, not knowing who will spend it.  And so, Lord, where do I put my hope?  My only hope is in you.  Rescue me from my rebellion.  Do not let fools mock me.  I am silent before you; I won’t say a word, for my punishment is from you.  But please stop striking me!  I am exhausted by the blows from your hand.  When you discipline us for our sins, you consume like a moth what is precious to us.  Each of us is but a breath. Interlude

Hear my prayer, O Lord!  Listen to my cries for help!  Don’t ignore my tears.  For I am your guest—a traveler passing through, as my ancestors were before me.  Leave me alone so I can smile again before I am gone and exist no more.  Psalm 39:1-13

A shadow has little substance.  Now that is  more than an obvious truth; it opens a host of cans of worms for us humans.  Our shadow is a subtle reminder of where we go, and what we do.  And when the track of the shadow moves away from God, or without connected relevance to God, it is rebellion unmasked; our deeds give us away.  When we prefer the shadows we give traction to what Apostle John wrote about the incarnation of Godly substance:

And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil.  John 3:19

The Psalmist admitted this well before John wrote about it:

 Darkness is my closest friend.  Psalm 88:18b

Both the Old Testament Psalmist, and New Testament Apostle give rise to the shadow David wrote about in the beloved 23^rd Psalm, a valley of shadows, announcing death like a foreboding spectre.

The point of bringing the shadows into the light for our examination is not a morose elevation of gloom, but rather the warning intended by Scripture’s overwhelming juxtaposition of light and darkness.  God’s Word shows us the difference between rebellion’s darkness, and the purpose of God’s light of truth.  God’s desire is to bring us out of the darkness, into His marvellous light.

But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people.  You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession.  As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.  1 Peter 2:9

For You Today

We understand darkness because we are fallen creatures, living in a fallen, twisted, rebellious-towards-God-world.  But we cannot come up with one sound reason as to why we are fascinated-by, and pulled towards the darkness.

But we also understand the call of God (as C.S. Lewis put it) to leave the Shadowlands of darkness behind.  We are called to walk in His light; there is no blind stumbling there.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!  

[1] Title image: Pixabay.com   Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©    

Chasing the Wind & Stubbing Toes

[i][ii]

Wednesday, March 27, 2019

For Jeduthun, the choir director: A psalm of David.

I said to myself, “I will watch what I do and not sin in what I say.  I will hold my tongue when the ungodly are around me.”  But as I stood there in silence—not even speaking of good things—the turmoil within me grew worse.  The more I thought about it, the hotter I got, igniting a fire of words:  “Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be.  Remind me that my days are numbered—how fleeting my life is.  You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand.  My entire lifetime is just a moment to you; at best, each of us is but a breath.” Interlude

We are merely moving shadows, and all our busy rushing ends in nothing.  We heap up wealth, not knowing who will spend it.  And so, Lord, where do I put my hope?  My only hope is in you.  Rescue me from my rebellion.  Do not let fools mock me.  I am silent before you; I won’t say a word, for my punishment is from you.  But please stop striking me!  I am exhausted by the blows from your hand.  When you discipline us for our sins, you consume like a moth what is precious to us.  Each of us is but a breath.  Interlude

Hear my prayer, O Lord!  Listen to my cries for help!  Don’t ignore my tears.  For I am your guest—a traveler passing through, as my ancestors were before me.  Leave me alone so I can smile again before I am gone and exist no more.  Psalm 39:1-13

Anyone who has been to a funeral has heard the wise words of Solomon:

For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.  A time to be born and a time to die.  Ecclesiastes 3:1-2a

Solomon wrote that the meaning and weight of all the activities of humans is vanity or emptiness.  In Warren Wiersbe’s series of books entitled “BE” he tells of a favorite seminary professor who described Solomon’s characterization of the stuff we do, say, and think, and the impact it leaves on the rest of us, as what you have left over after you pop a soap bubble….poof…all gone; quite a picture of 70 years, plus or minus!

Solomon got at least some of his wisdom from his father, King David.  And in the Psalm, which David gave to one of his Temple music directors for use in public worship, David pours out his heart over this brief life and its associated stubbed toe times, when we walk in pain and sorrow. 

The ancients saw everything as coming from God – good stuff, bad stuff, and the arbitrary nature of it all – God seemingly laying hard stuff on our shoulders during good times or bad, whether we know we’ve sinned or have just messed it up without a clue – it’s like a maze, a strange puzzle to be navigated by the unknowing, unsuspecting pilgrim on planet earth, trying not to tick God off.

Now, that’s quite different from today, when most of humanity barely acknowledges God, choosing rather to assume that we’re alone in this universe, and everything that happens is chance, the universe working-out its immutable and harsh changes, no matter who gets in the way.

The dividing line between the ancients and moderns, however, is the cross of Jesus Christ.  As man discovered, and is still discovering, the complexity of human existence, and the beauty and order which God imputed to His creation (because of his own nature of beauty, power, and orderly Sovereign love), man is always faced with the choice between faith in God and relying on self.

In the end, and for the largest share of his life, David chose to trust all, whether vanity or meaning, to God’s care.  For my two-cent’s worth, it was the best choice.

For You Today

Many people scramble through this breath of a life trying to make their mark, accomplish big things, and leave a legacy.  When that soap bubble pops because of a stubbed toe of some kind, that’s usually God whispering.  So, sit still and listen; unless, of course, you’re satisfied with vanity.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day.

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[i] Title Image:   Pixabay.com

[ii] Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are from The New Living Translation©