“For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the LORD of hosts.” (Malachi 1:11)

From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the LORD’S name is to be praised. (Psalm 113:3)

Abiding Under the Shadow

“Hast thou not known? Hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? There is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youth shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:28-31).

Have we forgotten the God that we serve? There is nothing impossible with God.

No situation is out of his control. When the storms come, we must learn to trust him. Maybe you have forgotten or you are so overwhelmed with the pain and frustration that you can’t see God at work through the turmoil. When I face the storm, I find him in my prayers. Sometimes, I don’t even know how to pray I am so consumed with the problem, but if I’ll remember to worship him he begins to work out his perfect plan in my life.

Keep moving towards the light of his presence. In the still of my night, I find him embracing me. I shall not fear the darkness. Although every sign tells me that it’s hopeless, I still hold on to hope that he is sovereign and he has already answered my prayer even before I speak the problem in prayer. It takes time. When I feel so impatient waiting for your promise, Lord, calm me down enough that I enjoy the day that you have prepared. Take me back to simplicity, life before schedules and deadlines, when we’d catch lightening bugs in the backyard and put them in mason jars. I miss it, and yet I thank you for today.

I have not been promised tomorrow, and yesterday is just a memory. The only thing that I desire from you is another today. A moment in time, Now. In my now, let me not miss opportunities to share about your goodness. Jesus Christ: His mercy endureth forever. Life is too short to spend lamenting over what might have been. Let me live in the now. Today, is the day of salvation. While I am living, help me to learn to walk in your shadow.

There is safety in the shadow of the Almighty.

“Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.” (Isaiah 60:1-2).
“Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Selah. Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them. Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools. They go from strength to strength every one of them in Zion appeareth before God. O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer: give ear, O God of Jacob. Selah” (Psalm 84:4-8).

We have been in a season of testing in the last few months, now the Lord is preparing us for a new work that he desires to perform in us. These things must come to pass before we are prepared to do the work that the Lord has called us to do.

Can he trust us to be responsible and faithful to the calling that he’s placed on our lives? Will we reject God’s hand at work in our lives when the master plan conflicts with our vision? Never will we know the blessing of Almighty God in its fullness, if we don’t understand that in order to know Christ, we must be willing to know him in the fellowship of his suffering. That’s sometimes hard to handle, because we don’t want to suffer. We want everything to run smoothly and get praise from all of our faithful friends and coworkers. We want to be accepted, and enjoy the blessings of God.

The Lord beckons us to take up our cross and follow him. I can’t take up your cross, and you can’t take up my cross; but if we are to fulfill God’s eternal purpose for our lives we must be willing to take up our own cross, just as he carried his to Calvary. If we aren’t careful, we’ll go days without spending time in his presence. It used to be that we couldn’t wait to get into his presence; now, too often, we push aside the Lord for work, the empty social gatherings, or our own entertainment. How long will we limit God? He can only prosper us as our soul prospers.

So, we wonder why we stay so stressed out with fear and anxiety as we go through the redundant routines of daily living. It is because we have forgotten that we need God! I can’t do this on my own, but if I’m called to bear that cross, I will make it because I’m learning how to abide under the shadow.” I know that I need God to direct my steps.

When I move through my day, I want to know that he has gone before me to make the way. He promised to set before me an open door. By the way, you don’t have to preach on the job for people to know that you’re a Christian; they’ll know that you’re a Christian by the way you live your life. If the Lord has placed his anointing on you; they will know.

“O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil” (Psalm 90:14-15).

“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust” (Psalm 91:1-2).

“Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God” (Psalm 90:2).

In this week’s Lattereign, I offer encouragement to those who have been living through a time of testing of your faith, and I want you to know that, This Too Shall Pass, and you will come out stronger.

Image credit: The image used in this week’s Lattereign was on Mayor Allen Thomas’, facebook page. It is captioned, “Light Rises on the Tar River this Morning,” after the recent Hurricane Matthew waters are beginning to recede. It lets me know that God does have everything in control. Thank you for showing true leadership during this difficult season of our lives.