Shadow and Light
I was taking a walk last week. It was one of those spring days you wish you could make last forever. The sky was a brilliant blue. The new leaves on the trees were that fresh green that only lasts for a few weeks. The birds were singing their little hearts out. Suddenly, a praise song I hadn’t heard in years popped into my head:
When I Look Into Your Holiness
“When I look into Your Holiness. When I gaze into Your loveliness.
When all things that surround become shadows in the light of You.
When I found the joy of reaching Your heart. When my will becomes enthralled in Your love.
When all things that surround become shadows in the light of You.
I worship You. I worship You. The reason I live is to worship You.”
(words and music by Wayne & Cathy Perrin)
It was the phrase, “When all things that surround become shadows in the light of You.” that caught at my heart. I thought of all the things surrounding my life, all the cares and worries both small and large. There are health issues, aging parents, adult children facing major decisions in their lives, the sale of our home, and the things going on in the world that will in some way affect all of us. So many things to take my focus off the One who is in control of every one of them.
There are other things that surround my life that can distract me. Things that aren’t bad in and of themselves, but things that keep me from spending time with Him.
I want it to be true in my life that when I look at who the Father is, all those things become mere shadows. The light of His love, His power, His mercy, His grace, His wisdom, His glory, His holiness – casts a shadow on everything else. A light that shines so brightly everything else fades into the background.
To be sure, the problems and cares of life are still there. But my desire is to be so focused on Christ that they don’t have the power to hide Him from my view.
“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life; whom shall I dread?” Psalm 27:1 (NAS)
“Again therefore Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life.’ ” John 8:12 (NAS)
That was very beautiful
What a gorgeous idea… and truly, if we understand that we it means to be a reflection of Him – to become His light, then that means that we can throw shadow on those things that strive to distract us and others. By the light that is shining un us, we can help others see the brilliance of the Lord.
Linda, though I’ve never heard this that I can remember, that is the same phrase that jumped out at me. Wow. That is beautiful. I pray this today, that everything would be but a mere shadow in light of Him.
That he would burst onto my scene this day with his glorious light! That I would have the holy visioning to perceive.
Wonderful thoughts, Linda. You’ve brought some of his light to me this day.
peace~elaine
I so agree with your Linda. Sometimes things that way our heart down keeps us from spending joyful time with Him.
I pray that you will find peace in Him as you are facing all the different issues in your life.
Thank you so for sharing your heart and your wisdom with us.
So very lovely.
How very true…we allow many things to distract us. I have never heard that song but now I want to. Thank you.
This, yes this: “When all things that surround become shadows in the light of You…”
Father, make it so…
I’ve linked to this piece, Linda…
Thank you.
Wow, I actually remember this song. I haven’t heard it in over 10 years. What beautiful thoughts you shared. It is so true that God overshadows everything. I love it when you post here. So lovely!
Lovely post Linda. I love the song, it’ll probably be stuck in my head for a while now lol.
Hi Linda,
I want to go to itunes now and find this song. Awesome.
love Psalm 27:1
Blessings!!