Receding Shadows

Daily Reading: 2 Kings 20

 Let the shadow go back ten steps. (2 Kings 20.10)

Devotional Thought: Sick and about to die, King Hezekiah cried to the Lord for healing.  God sent Isaiah to him with the news he had heard Hezekiah's prayer.  Hezekiah asked the prophet, “What shall be the sign that the Lord will heal me?” Isaiah gave him a choice: the shadow lengthening ten steps or retreating ten steps.  Hezekiah responded, “Let the shadow go back ten steps.”

Let the shadow go back…  Hezekiah wanted to get out from under the shadow of death, didn’t he?  Isn’t that how all of us feel?  In Psalm 23, King David spoke of going through the valley of the shadow of death – not residing there but quickly traversing through the dark, shadowy valley, returning to the light of God’s love and care. 

I have a friend who has lived under the shadow of cancer for five years.  She has had surgery and treatments.  None of it has proven effective.  Recently, however, God did something to roll back the shadow.  She testified to me how God has taken away the dread.  And, even if the cancer is to remain in her, she has the assurance that she is going to be OK.  Now, when I speak with her, the shadow is gone.  Peace and joy have replaced it.

Let the shadow go back…  We long to live in the bright of day and with the light of life.  What shadows are there in your life?  What shadows smother your hope and peace?  Are there health problems?  Work issues?  Strained relationships?  Sorrow?  Let the shadow go back!

Prayer: Lord, let the shadow go back in my life. Help me, even when faced with death, to remember that one day the eternal sun shall shine and no more shadows shall darken my path.  Amen.

Psalm of the Day: 18.31-34

31 For who is God, but the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God?--

32 the God who equipped me with strength and made my way blameless.

33 He made my feet like the feet of a deer and set me secure on the heights.

34 He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.