March 12, 2005	Read Psalm 121
“The Lord is your shade at your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.” (vv. 5-6)
REST IN THE SHADE Have you ever tried looking into the sun? You really can't --- and shouldn't --- because its rays are so bright it could be blinding. Instead, we enjoy the warmth and illuminating aspects of the sun. Sometimes we even need sunglasses to help shade us from the intensity of this force called the sun. In a very similar way, the truth of God's presence and power can be too overwhelming for us at times. We may need to be shielded from the intensity of this awesome God. Maybe that's why God sent Jesus to be the Light of the world for us, so that we could have a non-blinding way to see and experience God. God often gives us shade --- a place of rest or wonderment --- when something God is trying to reveal to us is too overwhelming for us to comprehend in the moment. For instance, Joseph almost “divorced” Mary quietly until it was time for him to understand that she was to give birth to God's Son, Jesus. Then there was Paul, who actually needed to witness God's blinding light, in a vision of Jesus, before he could be prodded to leave the comfort of the shade of his truth, wherein he believed to be doing God's will by persecuting the Christian believers of his day. God often gives us shade as well, in order to prepare us to take in his light at just the right time. And God's timing is everything --- not unlike a woman in labor who is told not to push too soon. When the time is right, she will know, and the baby will come. When it is time for us to see God's unfolding revelation for our life and life circumstances, he will show us. Until then, rest in the shade, knowing that the clarity of the Light is not far from your view.   Lord, help me rest in your shade until the fullness of your Light can be revealed to me. Amen Laura Ulicky-Weerts

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