God knows how to give and get us what we need! We just need to learn to pay attention. This week, as I watched an episode of Sid the Science Kid with my one-year-old niece, I began to understand the role spiritual shadows play in our lives.
First, let me define what I call a spiritual shadow. We all experience "shadow dancing" at some point in our walk with Christ. We are in the spiritual shadows when we can literally “feel” that “something” in our lives is about to change or shift. During these times, we often struggle to find the words that will convey what our hearts so clearly know and see.
In our spirits we know that we are on to something and our expectancy increases. But we must be careful when we feel ourselves in the shadows, because if we don’t rightly discern our seasons and times, we will easily become frustrated when our natural circumstances take time to catch up with our spiritual sight.
I’ve been shadow dancing for the past four or five months. Outwardly I’ve experienced some phenomenal changes, but inside I know there is more. New relationships and opportunities are crossing my path and I’ve been working to navigate the tensions between what I “feel” and what I live.
Using the natural principles, I learned about shadows while watching Sid, I began to understand the following key principles about spiritual shadows and how they affect our lives:
1. Shadows show shapes, not details: When we sense or feel that our lives are about to change, we immediately get excited. That anticipation can be so high that it seems to be almost tangible. But excitement is not an emotion that is easily sustained when it is challenged by slow moving circumstances. Or worse yet, realities that can make it seem as if things aren’t going to change! If we aren’t on guard, excitement will give way to frustration and disappointment.
In order to maintain the right mental attitude and keep our faith from stumbling we have to accept that the details—the actual living out of what we are expecting—can never be found in the shadows. The details are revealed when we step out into full light.
2. Shadows are created when something blocks the light source: A shadow is created when an object blocks the light. Spiritually speaking that “object” can be something in our hearts that needs to be worked out or it can simply just be a matter of timing. Regardless of what it is, the block is representative of a need for more change.
During our shadow times, we must keep ourselves exposed to the light so that we can move the things that are blocking our vision. Spiritually, the light is represented by the “Rhema” and the “Logos” of God’s word. The Rhema is His revealed word and the Logos is His expressed word as seen in the tenets of the scripture. Obeying God’s word and applying His principles results in growth. As we grow spiritually, our environment changes because our expectations of life change. The light of God’s word causes us to interact with our environment from a new perspective. For example, give a small baby building blocks and they will be fascinated by the colors and possibly put them in their mouths. But give those same blocks to an older child with greater understanding and they will create something with them.
Furthermore, we must also keep ourselves in the light of the Rhema words He reveals to us. We move from the shadows to full light by responding to the small promptings we receive from Him. It’s not a coincidence your favorite TV preacher is sharing the same message as your Pastor, which just happens to be the topic in your devotional and of the new book your friend just gave you. Those messages are Rhema for you and are specifically needed for you to understand your next steps and process.
Live It! Have you felt the shadow? You know God is doing something in your life, but you are unsure of exactly what that is. If you want to maintain your expectation, while positioning yourself to move out of the shadows spend 10-15 minutes journaling about what you feel. After identifying what you feel is about to happen, spend an additional 10-15 minutes clearly identifying the current patterns and lessons that keep surfacing in your life. How are you focusing on growing in these areas?