STANDING SOMEWHERE

IN THE SHADOWS

I am reminded of a dark dark day.  There is no sunshine, no shadows.  The wind is howling, and the storm is coming.  And then I think of people who are standing in shadows in their lives.  Their world is dark like a thick cloud has surrounded them.  Are you in that situation, my friend?  There is no light on your pathway?

I am reminded of what it would be like to drive at night on a dark, lonely road.  You can hardly see the way ahead of you, curves ahead and a cliff on one side.  That is what life is like sometimes in our lives.  We can’t see the end from the beginning of our trials, and they seem to go on and on.  And there is loneliness, and we feel like there is not a person in the world who understands our fears and frustrations.  We may feel like no one really cares.  Or we may actually be alone in this world. 

Maybe you have lost a dear loved one, a cherished mate.  And you walked together in this life for many years, now you face the years alone.  Maybe you had a promising position in your job, and suddenly you were terminated, and you just feel like a cloud of doom has fallen over you.  There could be any number of reasons we walk through these dark places, places of shadow.  And as I think these thoughts, the Lord reminds me of an old chorus we used to sing many years ago.  It goes like this:

Standing somewhere in the shadows

You’ll find Jesus,

He’s the one who always cares

And understands.

Standing somewhere in the shadows

You’ll find Jesus,

And you will know Him

By the nail prints in His hands.

There is Jesus standing in the shadow of your grief.  There is Jesus standing in the shadows of your loneliness.  There is Jesus standing in the shadows your past mistakes and your fear of the future.

Whatever you are going through this day, just look and there He is clearly standing in the midst of your situation.  And when Jesus comes into the midst of your sorrow, your pain, your rejection, your hurts, He brings His compassion and His love to you.  He is the God of all comfort, Praise the Lord!  And He understands, as He has been there ahead of you, He has walked that path.  When Jesus walked this earth, He was rejected by the very people He came to save.  He was rejected by His own friends, who deserted Him in His darkest hour.

“For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are,  yet without sin.  Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” Hebrews 4:15, 16.

There He is my friend, waiting in the shadows of your life.  Look there ahead through the fog of your despair, the clouds of doubt and fear, look ahead by faith, you will see Him waiting with arms outstretched.  For when you find Him in the shadows of your life, He brings light to your darkness.  “Life itself was in Him, and this life gives life to everyone.  The light shines through the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.” (John 1:4-5).

And how will you know Him?  You will know Him by the nail prints in His hands. He has been to the cross of suffering, pierced for our sin.  And it is at the cross that we find healing and redemption for all our needs.

TURN YOUR EYES UPON JESUS

O Soul, are you weary and troubled?

No light in the darkness you see?

There’s light for a look at the Savior,

And life more abundant and free!

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,

Look full in His wonderful face,

And the things of earth

Will grow strangely dim

In the light of His glory and grace.

Through death into life everlasting

He passed, and we follow Him there;

Over us sin no more hath dominion –

For more than conquerors we are!

His word shall not fail you – He promised;

Believe Him and all will be well:

Then go to a world that is dying,

His perfect salvation to tell!

Helen Howarth Lemmel (1864-1961)

God bless you, my friends, may the Lord of Glory be that light in your darkness right now, in the Name of Jesus!

Pastor Sharon Besler