“Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:” (I Peter 3:8).
“Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to wrath” (James 1:19).

Sometimes I feel that I walk in the shadows and that isn’t a bad thing when the shadows that cover me are from the wings of the Almighty. The Bible tells us about how he is with us like a shadow. It doesn’t matter what time of day or night we need the Lord, because he is always available to us when we call on his name. Miracles occur in our midst on a daily basis and it can be contributed to the commitment and faith of people who are willing to stand in the gap and pray.

Okay. That sounds too easy: standing in the gap and praying. What happens when we don’t feel like our prayers reach heaven? As a matter of fact, what happens if we reach a place when we feel that the Lord is ignoring us? We may find in seasons of our walk with the Lord, that we feel alone to fight this spiritual battle. If things can go wrong, they do, and no matter how much we beg God for relief, we are just plain tired of fighting. This happens when the Lord may be teaching us a lesson that is not meant to harm us, but to make us stronger. In every test, the teacher is silent. It is up to the student to choose the response to take.

Will we sometimes get it wrong? Yes, but even when we do make mistakes, we have an opportunity to retest and get it right. The dilemma occurs when we are in the middle of finding our way. If we are facing a roadblock, we do have options: to stop moving forward, to turn back, or to climb over it and keep trusting God even when we are not sure what is on the other side of the obstacle. It is our choice, yet sometimes we don’t take the time to weight the consequences.

Weighing the consequences requires that you spend time praying for God’s will. I have found that the more time I take to wait on the Lord in prayer, the less stress I feel when trying to decide what path to take. When I release my control over a situation that is difficult to decide, and allow the Lord to work all things for my good, I can have peace to know that no matter what I face, God is in control.

If you are going to be living “in the secret place of the most High”; then, you will abide under his shadow. It won’t be difficult to stay under his protection, but God didn’t save us just for us to sit back and receive his blessings. Being blessed is a part of our worship, true, but this gospel wasn’t meant to end with us. We can’t change our fate: we are all appointed unto man once to die; we must do our best to reach out to those around us.

It’s a sobering thought to realize that we are surrounded by people who cry out for salvation. Who will tell them about Jesus? If we get too involved with our own agendas to listen to their cries, we’ll miss out on the greatest blessing of all: giving the truth. When we understand this concept, we shall not know fear.

Psalm 91

1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

² I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.

³ Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.

⁴ He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.

⁵ Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;

⁶ Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.

⁷ A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.

⁸ Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.

⁹ Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;

¹⁰ There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.

¹¹ For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.

¹² They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.

¹³ Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.

¹⁴ Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.

¹⁵ He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.

¹⁶ With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.

Living in the shadows has the benefit of having the Lord always available to lead you through the storm. Trust him and he will give you the desires of your heart. He is sovereign. He is the Almighty.

In this week’s Lattereign, we are reminded that God is in control of our circumstance. If we could only see