Day 51: Jesus, I Live In Your Shadow

Have you learned to live in the shadow of your Lord? Life in His shadow is amazing and wondrous. The psalmist said in Psalm 91:1 “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.” That name of God – Almighty – is El Shaddai, the One who is enough for you, no matter what you may face today. He is all-sufficient and can meet your deepest needs, no matter what they may be. So what does it mean to live in the shadow of El Shaddai? Living in His shadow means we have made our home in the Lord, we live near Him, and we commune with Him. We are like the psalmist who said, “For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the LORD God is a sun and a shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.” (Psalm 84:10-11) You can say along with Asaph, “But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the LORD God my refuge, that I may tell of all your works” (Psalm 73:28). Life “in the shadow” is the humble place where Christ is exalted and glorified and we are in the background. He is front and center (see Isaiah 25:4, 32:2). When we are “in His shadow”, it is as though we are in the shade of “a great rock in a weary land” (Isaiah 32:2). I learned the following about the place of His shadow:

He hides me there (Psalm 17:8)
He keeps me as the apple of His eye (Psalm 17:8)
He gives me refuge (Psalm 36:7)
He gives me drink from the river of His delights (Psalm 36:7)
He gives me mercy (Psalm 57:1)
He helps me there in His shadow (Psalm 63:7)
And He causes me to sing for joy (Psalm 63:7).

The best place we can ever be is “in the shadow” of El Shaddai. And to stay in His shadow, we must stay close to Him. So my dear friend, may you experience the rich blessing and comfort of El Shaddai today.

My Response: Lord Jesus, thank You that Your presence is so great, You cast a protective shade over me – You are a rock for me in a weary land – a great refuge and comfort in times of trouble. I choose to live in Your shadow today. May others see Your grace and glory, and Your majesty and magnificence. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Chapter 7 Embrace and Surrender

Today I talked all about surrender. And interestingly, there were a lot of surrenders in John 11 - we looked at all of them in great detail. I think it’s valuable to take some time and live with a passage of scripture for awhile and see what there is to learn from the Lord. I loved thinking about the surrenders of Lazarus in illness, death, and experiencing a miracle. And then there was the small surrender of Thomas and the disciples - there we learned that surrender is a journey. And Martha was an inspiration - her surrender was incredible - she leaned in to the Lord’s embrace quickly and experienced a BIG discovery - “I am the resurrection and the life”. Her faith was rewarded with a new vision of Jesus. Then Mary entered in to the dance of tears with her Lord. He is indeed near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. It was a powerful day of discussion in our dance with the Lord.

Finally, I wanted to share a quote that Shirley Peters sent. I just love it. Take these words with you today: “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass. It’s about learning to dance in the rain.” Amen and amen!! May we all surrender to the Lord today and then dance, even in the rain!

Day 50: Jesus, You Make Me Sing In The Storm

Are you in a storm right now in your life? Be encouraged - you can sing even in the storm. Jesus gives you joy and peace not “because of” the circumstances, but “in spite of” the circumstances. David knew the dark storms of life, as is evidenced in Psalm 13. But at the end of the psalm, he was able to say “”I will sing to the LORD, because He has dealt bountifully with me” (Psalm 13:6). Here is a quote from my book Pilgrimage Of The Heart:

“The winds can rage, the sky can be dark, and yet a bird can sit in the hollow of a tree and sing the most beautiful song. The bird is created to sing and God has given it the song. The bird does not sing because of the storm but in spite of the storm. In the same way, there is a point in the trial where finally you are able to turn from despair to trust in the love of God. At long last, you see truths that stand firm, no matter the darkness. Those truths give you a reason to rejoice. They become the words of the song that God gives you in the dark night of the soul. And then, you can finally sing.”

God bless you, dear friend, and whatever is going on, lean in to the embrace of Jesus, and sing.

My Response: Lord Jesus, thank You for being the reason I sing today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Day 49: Jesus, You Awaken Me For Quiet Time

I love the early mornings with the Lord. Just yesterday, a friend asked me what time I arise for quiet time in the morning. I hesitate sharing my response because I don’t want anyone to think my time should be their time for quiet time. I have been an early morning person since I was born. What can I say? I awaken a short time before 4 am almost every day (sometimes 5 am:)). I’m so awake by 4 am most days that I must get up and get going.

In one of Isaiah’s Servant Songs about the Messiah, this early morning is seen: “Morning by morning he awakens; he awakens my ear to hear as those who are taught” (Isaiah 50:4). Jesus often arose early in the morning to talk with His Father alone, apart from others. We see Jesus’ early morning example in Mark 1:35, “And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.”

So much happens in those early morning hours alone with the Lord. I love how it is still dark outside. I grab a steaming cup of coffee. If it’s cold outside, sometimes I turn on this virtual fireplace I have on DVD that even makes crackling sounds. Okay, you can stop laughing ☺. But I like the ambience of a wonderful fire and we don’t have a real fireplace and the virtual one is pretty cool! Then, I grab my devotionals, Bible, and Quiet Time Notebook and sit with the Lord preparing my heart for time alone with Him. I am loving Streams in the Desert right now. In fact, the whole topic of morning quiet time was the focus of Streams today. The verses were Exodus 34:2-3 where God is speaking to Moses: “Be ready by the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself there to Me on the top of the mountain.” Then, I read this devotion today and just got SO excited about morning quiet time with the Lord:

“The morning watch is essential. You must not face the day until you have faced God, nor look into the face of others until you have looked into His. You cannot expect to be victorious, if the day begins only in your own strength. Face the work of every day with the influence of a few thoughtful, quiet moments with your hear and God. Do not meet other people, even those of your own home, until you have first met the great Guest and honored Companion of your life—Jesus Christ. Meet Him alone. Meet Him regularly. Meet Him with His open book of counsel before you; and face the regular and the irregular duties of each day with the influence of His personality definitely controlling your every act.”

Don’t those words encourage you to make the most of your time and draw near to your Lord! I must say – I DO love the morning hours with the Lord. So much has been accomplished over the years early in the morning with the Lord. I just finished writing my 21st book and I can truthfully say that the Lord has given and developed EVERY idea for each of those books early in the morning alone with Him. I can think clearly when I sit alone with Him. I love to think deeply about what He is saying in His Word and then write about it in my quiet time notebook. I remember the day He showed me that hope comes from the promises He gives in His Word (Lamentations 3:21-23). I remember the morning He showed me in Psalm 9:10 that trust comes from knowing His names (His character and attributes). One morning He took me from Luke 10:42 to a cross-reference in Psalm 27:4 and that verse became my life verse. Then, there was the morning deep in a dark night of the soul when He took me to Psalm 84:5 and I realized I needed to set my heart on pilgrimage. That verse altered the course of my life when I learned that I could not set my roots deep down in the things on earth and that true life, real life was found in God and God alone. Out of that verse came my very first book, Pilgrimage of the Heart. Then, there was the quiet time when the Lord took me through Psalm 119 and I saw a repeated word – revive. Through that word and subsequent study in my quiet time, I learned all about personal, spiritual revival. That led to my book of quiet times, Revive My Heart, and the 30 day journey, Set My Heart On Fire. I could go on and on. An unbelievable adventure of discovery, joy, and radical intimacy with the King of Kings awaits any who are willing to draw near and know Him.

I do indeed love the early morning hours. Some may need the quiet of the night. Whenever you choose to spend time with Him, you will never be disappointed. A feast awaits you! Oh, and I did a little math. Did you know that if you arise at 5 am instead of 7 am, those two extra hours a day give you an extra month of awake hours (quiet time with the Lord) a year! Yes, you heard me correctly – check it out for yourself. Take 2 hrs and multiply it by 365 days and you come up with 730 hrs. Then divide 730 by 24 (hrs in a day), and you will get 30.416 days. One solid month with Jesus a year! Now that’s what I call quiet time! God bless you as you continue on in this great adventure of knowing Him.

My Response: Lord Jesus, thank You for the incredible blessing of time alone with you in the early morning hours. I look forward to our next time together and my ears are open to hear You speak. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Day 48: Jesus, You Desire My Devotion

Are you a Martha or a Mary in your devotion to the Lord? Martha was distracted and Mary was devoted. Martha was worried and bothered about many things. Mary was sitting at the Lord’s feet, listening to His Word (Luke 10:38-42). Growing in my devotion as a “Mary”, sitting at the Lord’s feet, hearing Him speak in His Word, is absolutely vital especially when I am faced with pressing difficulties. Today I read in Streams In The Desert: “Often God seems to place His children in positions of profound difficulty, leading them into a wedge from which there is no escape…It is a platform for the display of His almighty grace and power. He will not only deliver you; but in doing so, He will give you a lesson that you will never forget.” When I am a “Mary”, then I can hear the Lord’s encouragement and find strength to face every new day. I can find promises in His Word that tether my soul to Him so I walk with hope and joy. David, the man after God’s own heart, knew this secret. He had developed the habit of pouring out his soul to the Lord and inquiring of God when faced with big decisions. He cried out to God when he was in trouble and relied on God’s strength and help for great tasks. Today, let’s be a Mary, or a David, and devote ourselves to our Lord.

My Response: Lord Jesus, You applauded Mary’s heart of devotion and said she had chosen what could never be taken from her. Today I choose to be a Mary, sit at Your feet and listen to Your Word. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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