Throwing Shade

Shelter: something beneath, behind, or within which a person, animal, or thing is protected from storms, missiles, adverse conditions, etc.; refuge. - Dictionary.com

Do you ever have prayers that you remember praying that shook the grounds of the next season of your life? Those X marks the spot prayers that you lay at the foot of the Father?

One evening when I was at my absolute weakest and didn’t have the strength to fight the Enemy’s lies with God’s truth, all I could muster was the ability to say out loud, “Lord hide me under the shelter of your wings..” Ironically at that point of weakness I found my greatest strength.

As I grapple for the right words to communicate the magnificence of truth to you, I stop and realize that not until you, the reader, are in a place of desperation where you need this skill-- will this wilderness skill be life changing. But, once you appropriate this truth, you will know the unbelievable power found in the name of Jesus.

Seek Shade

Wilderness experts tell us that, next to the need for water the most essential requirement for survival in the wild is shelter. A good shelter provides protection from the elements and a sense of safety and security. Concerning our shelter, the Bible says, "The name of the Lord is a strong tower; The righteous runs into it and is safe" (Proverbs 18:10).

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When Moses ( a guy who led one seriously long wilderness expedition) asked the Lord to demonstrate His glory, God responded by revealing His name and His character.

Moses said, "Please show me your glory." He said, "I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of Yahweh before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy." He said, "You cannot see my face, for man may not see me and live." Yahweh also said, "Behold, there is a place by me, and you shall stand on the rock. It will happen, while my glory passes by, that I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and will cover you with my hand until I have passed by; then I will take away my hand, and you will see my back; but my face shall not be seen." (Exodus 33:18-23)

Moses desperate for hope in the midst of the ultimate wilderness season, begs God for one thing - to see His glory.

Moses cut two tablets of stone like the first. And he rose early in the morning and went up on Mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him, and took in his hand two tablets of stone. The LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, a forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.” Exodus 34:4-7

There in the cleft of the rock, Moses is given a glimpse of God's glory. In this revelation, God discloses His name and His nature. He is Yahweh, the self- existent One. He is good. He is faithful. He is compassionate and just. He is slow to anger and abounding in love.

A Picture is Worth A 1000 Words

I was studying about some of the trends that are important in marketing and social media. As I’m always interested in how things evolve over time. I remember thinking Instagram is not going to be that much fun because it was just simply sharing photos. But, you see an image is so important especially in the sense of role models. If you give me an image I know what I can become or the direction I should be headed in.

So what does God mean when He says we are made in His image but we don’t have a visual representation of who He is or what He looks like? Interestingly, the Hebrew of the word image does not mean visual it means shade.

We are made in the shade of God.

How important it is for us to know that we are not just made in the visual image of God but we are made to live in the shade of God. Ladies when we live in the shade of God we feel the warmth of things but we do not take the heat of it.

If in your wilderness, you hesitate to run to Him, you might want to revisit who you think God is. If your image of God does not line up with his Revelation of who He is, then you very well are believing some of the lies of the Enemy about God's character. My God, is one who a girl can run to when life gets scary. Girl, You Tripping

Speaking of running, this is exactly what we do in the wilderness. We bolt because we are afraid. We fear the unknown.

We fear the future.

We fear being rejected...again.

We fear being hurt, exposed, humiliated, or overlooked.

Its in our wilderness, or in our meltdowns that Satan wants to disrupt certain areas with thoughts of rejection, shame and doubt. The enemy wants more than anything to disrupt that protection. There is always war in what God tries to protect.

Ladies, fear sends us into meltdown mode, and when our emotions go to the "crazy place," we dash about searching for shelter (security and protection) wherever we think we can find it. The wilderness reveals our hearts. We either run to the Lord or away from Him.

Gods Shade Covers That

Just as God got down in the garden with Adam & Eve after the enemy lures them, God can get down in the heat of things for us and we can rest in knowing His Shade covers that.

We realize this when we think back on times where you were burned & those burns healed. We realize because of Shade things didn’t happen to us while happening to everyone else. Life didn’t stop at divorce.

Suicide attempts were failed.

Betrayal by friends turned into blessings.

We burry our loved ones & did not loose our minds.

We wanted to get depressed but Gods sent someone to call.

Because we are living in the Shade of God.

It doesn’t mean we walk on crystal stairs, it doesn’t mean everything will go the right way. It means we need to get down on our knees and pray “God just bring your shade.“ The peace of knowing He is in it brings enough security in knowing we can withstand the heat!

Throw Shade Sis

God tells us we are not only made in His shade but we can become shade. When God brings people into your life you are able to provide shade just like we provide shade for our friends, children and spouses.

When the serpent in the garden removed the shade we now must work harder to get what was supposed to come naturally. God sent His Son, to live in His image to earth- to teach us to be like God. This required sacrifice.

Struggle is involuntary but it teaches you where sacrifice multiplies you. God sacrificed His son to multiply us- His Kingdom. Some of us do not have a choice in struggle but God is wanting to know what we choose to give up to be made in His image. Lay down your laziness.

Lay down the addictions. Lay down your pride.

Lay down your anxiety.

Lay down a relationship. Why? Because we want to become that image. To be closer to the shadow of God so that we can become more like God. In the midst of asking God for His protection we must lay down things in our life to be worthy. John 10:17 says “Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again.”

You see in order for relationships in natural to work we must work. Marriages do not last and neither do friendships if we don’t lay things down. If this is true for natural relationships, how much more is it true for our spiritual relationship?

If you don’t appoint your life- someone can disappoint it. I don’t want to constantly ask God to give while I hold on to my comfort. I often giggle now in Gods protection in the things that I thought were a problem. I laugh & think I spent years chasing & sometimes hiding from an enemy that ought to have ran from me.

We learn the power of living in Gods shade.

I ask you to think when is the last time you laid something down for the Glory of God? Not struggle, but intentional sacrifice of praise to God? Take inventory of your life. I’m challenging myself & you to be intentional about sacrifice in relationship with God. It is here when we appoint our life that we pick it back up again. If all you can do today is ask God to bring shade cling to the shelter. Day by Day in the peace of His arms allow God to restore you & create a woman that can throw shade for our fellow sisters.

Cast those shadows & lets build His kingdom, sis!

xo- Ashleigh Renee