Our dog is certainly a mongrel, when we got her as a pup we were told that she contained the following: Bichon Frise, Staffy, Husky and Malamute. As a result she does not shed much fur, she loves the snow but until recently she was in desperate need of a trim as she is starting to resemble a small polar bear so this time of year is a struggle for her.
The other evening when I took her for a walk I noticed more than ever her desire for the shade. She was on her lead and as we walked up the road we had the evening sun directly behind us and I was casting a particularly long shadow ahead of me. It was then I noticed what she was doing. No matter where I was she followed my shadow and walked along covered by it. The following evening we took another route that took us along the edge of a field of wheat, this too was casting a shadow across the path and she went straight into its shade.
It was only after seeing this on two occasions that God revealed to me the importance of dwelling in His shadow – not just popping in and out of it when the mood takes us. But really dwelling, staying, being covered by His shadow irrespective of whatever the season of our life and walk with Him. That is why the Psalmist uses the illustration of God’s shadow at the start of Psalm 91, the writer knew the dangers of heat of the desert and how important it was to find shelter.
Psalm 91 v1: Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
It is also an open invitation to any and everyone to dwell in the shelter of Gods shadow, there are no preconditions, no hoops to jump through. Jesus invites everyone on this planet to come and dwell in that shadow and to rest in Him from the troubles of this world. However, unlike the shadows cast on this earth the shadow God casts does not have a beginning or an end and there is room for all under it.
