{"id":196491,"date":"2021-10-11T07:07:44","date_gmt":"2021-10-11T05:07:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wereldwyd.co.za\/love-in-the-shadows\/"},"modified":"2021-10-11T07:07:44","modified_gmt":"2021-10-11T05:07:44","slug":"love-in-the-shadows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wereldwyd.co.za\/en\/love-in-the-shadows\/","title":{"rendered":"Love in the shadows"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cSurely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,<\/em><\/p>\n

and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Psalms 23:6 NIV<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

I was never the oldest, but I can clearly remember how irritated my big brother could get when I insisted on following him and his friends around.\u00a0 Like a shadow he couldn\u2019t shake.<\/p>\n

Just like the love of the Lord, I guess.<\/p>\n

But what happens to this analogy when it grows dark?\u00a0 For then the shadow disappears and not even an outline remains.<\/p>\n

We read that His help is a light that conquers the dark.<\/p>\n

But sometimes,<\/p>\n

for some people,<\/p>\n

it remains dark for a while first.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Huge note:\u00a0 God created darkness.<\/p>\n

His love does not cease when it closes in.<\/p>\n

The ceaseless, pursuing shadow of God\u2019s love does not vanish.<\/p>\n

It grows and flows into all the darkness that surrounds you and tempers its scariness.<\/p>\n

Just like your mom taught you how to take a little of the warmed-up milk and mix it with the eggs first, before returning the lukewarm mix to the large saucepan to create the custard.<\/p>\n

In this way you temper the heat that would have the eggs frighten itself into scrambles and ruin the custard.<\/p>\n

Surely.<\/p>\n

Surely.<\/p>\n

Some days I need to know that the love of the Lord will surely not evaporate when darkness settles around me.\u00a0 On those days He covers me in His crossbought-blood and it runs down my face and my hands and my feet and tempers everything that threatens to take my breath away and my joy too.<\/p>\n

That which was sent to do me harm, ends up glorifying His presence in my life.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Psalm 27<\/em><\/p>\n

A Psalm of David and Maxie and Liana and Willem and Magdaleen and Rentia and Nico and\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

The Lord is my light and my salvation;<\/em><\/p>\n

whom will I fear?<\/em><\/p>\n

The Lord is the strength of my life;<\/em><\/p>\n

of whom will I be afraid?<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

When the wicked came against me<\/em><\/p>\n

to eat my flesh\u2014<\/em><\/p>\n

my enemies and my foes\u2014<\/em><\/p>\n

they stumbled and fell.<\/em><\/p>\n

Though an army should encamp against me,<\/em><\/p>\n

my heart will not fear;<\/em><\/p>\n

though war should rise against me,<\/em><\/p>\n

in this will I be confident.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

One thing I have asked from the Lord,<\/em><\/p>\n

that will I seek after\u2014<\/em><\/p>\n

for me to dwell in the house of the Lord<\/em><\/p>\n

all the days of my life,<\/em><\/p>\n

to see the beauty of the Lord,<\/em><\/p>\n

and to inquire in His temple.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

For in the time of trouble<\/em><\/p>\n

He will hide me in His pavilion;<\/em><\/p>\n

in the shelter of His tabernacle He will hide me;<\/em><\/p>\n

He will set me up on a rock.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Now my head will be lifted up<\/em><\/p>\n

above my enemies encircling me;<\/em><\/p>\n

therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle;<\/em><\/p>\n

I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice!<\/em><\/p>\n

Be gracious to me and answer me.<\/em><\/p>\n

When You said, \u201cSeek My face,\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

my heart said to You, \u201cYour face, Lord, I will seek.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Do not hide Your face far from me;<\/em><\/p>\n

do not thrust Your servant away in anger;<\/em><\/p>\n

You have been my help.<\/em><\/p>\n

Do not leave me nor forsake me,<\/em><\/p>\n

O God of my salvation.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

If my father and my mother forsake me,<\/em><\/p>\n

then the Lord will take me in.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Teach me Your way, O Lord,<\/em><\/p>\n

and lead me in an upright path,<\/em><\/p>\n

because of my enemies.<\/em><\/p>\n

Do not deliver me to the will of my enemies;<\/em><\/p>\n

for false witnesses have risen against me,<\/em><\/p>\n

and they breathe out violence.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0I believe<\/em><\/p>\n

I will see the goodness of the Lord<\/em><\/p>\n

in the land of the living.<\/em><\/p>\n

Wait on the Lord;<\/em><\/p>\n

be strong, and may your heart be stout;<\/em><\/p>\n

wait on the Lord.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Modern English Version<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Your inspiration for the week: How I need You<\/p><\/blockquote>\n