One bright, sunshiny morning a couple weeks ago, I was walking when I noticed my shadow directly in front of me. I was going up hill when it got my attention. It was all I could pay attention to. It was like there was two of me. Trust me, no one needs that. I don’t know why it stood out that particular day, but it was so drastic that I had to take a picture of it. I just keep thinking about it. I’ve noticed it a few other times since then.
There must be in lesson it. I wrote the seed of an idea down in one of my notebooks, “something about shadows.” If I can’t get it out of my head, there must be something there. I’ve sat down to write about shadows at least four times. I’ve prayed about it. Read about it. Sometimes God gives me words like a bolt of lightning – the whole thing is in my head before I realize it. Sometimes, He plants a thought that won’t go away and makes me work for it. And that is where shadows fell.
To have a shadow means there is a source of light. In this case, obviously, it was the sun. Merriam-Webster says a shadow is the dark figure cast upon a surface by a body intercepting the rays from a source of light. I love the idea that I was intercepting rays of sunshine. Doesn’t that sound wonderful? It conjures up an image of a superhero in my mind. Hands on hips, chest out, head held high just standing there intercepting the sunshine and casting off shadows. Where’s my cape?
But it’s not the sunshine I’m here to talk about today, it’s that shadow. It resembled me in a funhouse mirror kind of way. I watched my arms swing, my quarantine ponytail bounce back and forth and my shape shift with every step. I had a bit of a shrunken head for a minute, insanely long arms and then a foot the size of a boat. It was 100 percent me except that it wasn’t. It was only an imitation of me.
I thought about the “shadow of death.” I’ve been down that road enough lately. That wasn’t it. So, I spent some time researching, reading, and cross-referencing all sorts of Biblical references to shadows trying to figure out what God wanted me to find. Two points stuck out to me while doing this work.
First, James 1:17 says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” The part that struck me about this is that it reminds me that God is the light. He is reliable, dependable and doesn’t change. My shadow was changing with every single movement I made. The sun stayed at my back. I caused the shape shifting.
Friends, I don’t know about you, but I get frustrated with a world that often feels like I’m walking in sand while the water pulls it out from under me. I bet you understand. This approach works until it doesn’t. I used to get along with her but she’s changed. I liked it better when we did it this way. I used to know what to expect when sending kids back to school but I don’t anymore. Any of those scenarios sound familiar?
God doesn’t change. There is no variation. He is the source of light. When we focus more on Him and less on the shape-shifting shadows being cast by people, then our immediate world settles.
The second point spun from the phrasing used in multiple verses about “a shadow of good things to come.” I spent most of the time with Hebrews 10:1, which is about animal sacrifices having been a shadow of good things to come. Clearly, Jesus – the ultimate sacrifice. When I noticed my shadow, it was in front of me. It was merely a poor substitute for the real thing that was just seconds behind it.
I wonder how many times I’ve settled, given up or given in at the “shadow of good things” and didn’t stick around for the actual good things. I am super guilty of accepting good enough because I doubt or just get weary in the waiting. That’s too bad because the good God has for us is way better than the good enough we have a habit of settling for. It’s like my kids insisting on having a Popsicle when they could have had an ice cream cone if they had been willing to wait just a little longer.
I’m not saying we always prevent ourselves from getting the good God has in store. I am saying everything has its consequences. If you fill up on Popsicles first, the ice cream is a little less enjoyable and might make you sick. We may force ourselves into a detour we didn’t want or an uncomfortable situation we could have avoided.
Patience, friends. Remember how God doesn’t change? He is reliable. He delivers on His promises for hope and a good future. They won’t just be shadows and poor reflections but the real deal. If we settle or give up too soon, we’ve only got ourselves to blame. I can hear you thinking now. But how do I know when it’s the real deal from God or just a shadow of something coming?
You have to genuinely want to know. You have to earnestly pray and let Him answer. If you do that, He will not let you mess up the timing. I can promise you this, if God wants your attention, He’ll get it. Personally, I get sidetracked thinking I might miss what He has for me. That’s why I settle for good enough. This is me looking at the shadow and not at the light. If we’re struggling with this concept, we’re not focused enough on Him.
Friends, if you’re stuck focusing on the shadows turn around and look toward the light.
