Shadows…
Shadows.
A good friend sent me a message the other day about the Bible verse I quoted last week from Psalm 39. He shared his thoughts and shared a video of someone explaining their take on the Psalm. I was honestly floored by the explanation of some of the parts of it.
To be honest, I’m not a Bible scholar. I have not read the whole book yet and definitely don’t yet know the intricacies of how things work together and the meanings of the words they used back then. When I read my Bible, I’m still reading it on a surface level understanding. The scriptures I quote in my writings are typically from the search function in the Bible app. I read around them for context, but that’s about it. I don’t yet know where the certain scriptures I’m looking for are located and certainly couldn’t name them.
The part about this psalm that stuck out to me was living as a shadow. Verse 6 reads.
“We are merely moving shadows, and all our busy rushing ends in nothing. We heap up wealth, not knowing who will spend it.”
Psalms 39:6 NLT
Just reading it and even listening to it, I just passed right on by. When it was explained in the video, the whole meaning changes. What is a shadow? It is a real thing, but it has no substance. A shadow can’t do anything. So, living as a moving shadow means we have no substance in our life. We are real but we don’t affect anything, we can’t help anyone, we can’t really do anything.
That simple explanation completely changed my perception of those verses. It made me think about my life and my actions. I spent most of my life as a shadow. I just went along, going with the flow, not really caring, just living day by day with no real plan or ambition. I only worried about myself and my immediate family, others in the world didn’t ever concern me. I had a cold heart.
I am saying this in the past tense, but truthfully, I still deal with a lot of these things to this day. I still struggle to think of others, I lose sight of my ambitions at times, and I get back into the rut of being self absorbed. The difference is I see myself changing. I see my priorities shifting, fear dwindling, and the fire inside kindling. There are days I feel like the grinch when his heart grew three sizes. I feel like I’m getting myself out of the shadows and into the light at times. I still retreat, but there seems to be a significant shift in my heart lately.
One of the biggest take aways I get from this is to share what is in your heart to share. My friend was open, honest and vulnerable with me. That’s huge in itself, but he also shared something that changed my thinking in a profound way. All of that simply because he was bold enough to share what was on his heart to share. That is what this blog is for me. I’m simply writing what I feel I am supposed to share with the world. That’s it, nothing more, nothing less. I am simply being obedient.
I hope my words inspire you every week to ponder the intricacies of your life each week. It is too easy to sit back and coast through years of our lives without even realizing it.
This week in particular, get yourself out of the shadows. Be a blessing to those around you, even when they don’t deserve it.
Psalm 39
“I said to myself, “I will watch what I do and not sin in what I say. I will hold my tongue when the ungodly are around me.” But as I stood there in silence— not even speaking of good things— the turmoil within me grew worse. The more I thought about it, the hotter I got, igniting a fire of words: “LORD, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered— how fleeting my life is. You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand. My entire lifetime is just a moment to you; at best, each of us is but a breath.” Interlude We are merely moving shadows, and all our busy rushing ends in nothing. We heap up wealth, not knowing who will spend it. And so, Lord, where do I put my hope? My only hope is in you. Rescue me from my rebellion. Do not let fools mock me. I am silent before you; I won’t say a word, for my punishment is from you. But please stop striking me! I am exhausted by the blows from your hand. When you discipline us for our sins, you consume like a moth what is precious to us. Each of us is but a breath. Interlude Hear my prayer, O LORD! Listen to my cries for help! Don’t ignore my tears. For I am your guest— a traveler passing through, as my ancestors were before me. Leave me alone so I can smile again before I am gone and exist no more.”
Psalms 39:1-13 NLT
In case you are interested l, here is the video I referenced.
https://enduringword.com/media/psalm-39-wisdom-to-speak-under-gods-correction/