How long has it been, friend? Months?
Years? How long have you walked in the shadows?
I don’t know your story; I don’t know what
the final blow was that sent you into hiding. It could be a breakup, an
unexpected health or financial crisis, a death, a divorce, or a season of
disappointments. Or perhaps the buildup of daily demands overwhelmed you.
Whatever it was, you landed in a place of
shadows – a dark, dreary place where survival mode is the norm and living fully
is just a dream. Day in and day out, you trudge through the shadows, lost and
lonely, longing for a bright new day. But each day brings more of the same.
How long, my friend, how long has it been
for you?
But maybe you haven’t even thought about
it. You haven’t realized that instead of living fully, you’re just barely
surviving.
Often, that’s what keeps us trapped in the
darkness because sometimes, when we are lost, we don’t even know it. Or even if
you sense it, deep down know that an intervention is needed, you’re simply too
exhausted to do anything about it.
It feels like a lost cause. Except that it
is not.
There is hope. Always Hope.
It is in the quiet whisper of the One who
calls you to more.
I have been slowly making my way through
part three of ‘The Lord of the Rings – The Return of the King’, savoring the
beautiful language and the rich storytelling. This week, I landed on a scene
that stopped me in my tracks. I laid the book aside as I often do when struck
by the layered meaning or beauty of the scene, for in those artfully crafted
words I found once again the invitation to wake up from my slumber. The echo of
a call, a rescue for us all who are trapped walking in the land of shadows.
Allow me to set the scene for you. A
wounded soldier prince lying as one dead, hope of his recovery slipping away,
until the King (yet unknown to many but recognized by the prince) draws near,
peers deep into the shadows, and gently but persistently calls him out.
‘Now Aragorn knelt beside Faramir, and held a hand upon his brow. And those that watched felt that some great struggle was going on. For Aragorn’s face grew grey with weariness; and ever and anon he called the name of Faramir, but each time more faintly to their hearing, as if Aragorn himself was removed from them, and walked afar in some dark vale, calling for one that was lost.’
Do you notice the struggle and the sweet
specificity of the call?
It goes on…
‘Suddenly Faramir stirred, and he opened his eyes, and he looked on Aragorn who bent over him; and a light of knowledge and love was kindled in his eyes, and he spoke softly. “My lord, you called me. I come. What does the king command?”’
Ooh! The wonder of the knowing and the love!
But there is more…
‘“Walk no more in the shadows, but awake!” said Aragorn. “You are weary. Rest a while, and take food, and be ready when I return.”
“I will, lord,” said Faramir. “For who would lie idle when the king has returned?”’
Yes, my friend, I know you are weary. But
there is One who has walked through the shadows to find you. He is whispering
your name. Do you hear Him?
He is gently but persistently calling you
out of the shadows. He knows who you are and what you’ve been through, yet He
still offers you Life.
But first, He calls you to rest. He knows the battles you’ve fought and the burdens you carry. He whispers, ‘Rest a while and take food; feed on my Word, look to Me for sustenance.’
Jesus offers us sweet rest for our souls. He trades our deep-seated weariness, which no amount of sleep can touch, for a peace that comes from being fully reconciled with God and fully aligned with His will. Rest!
It’s the kind of rest that pulls us out of
darkness into the bright new day we have longed for. The kind of rest that
equips us to finally live, to move from surviving to thriving, to be fully
alive, no longer trapped in the land of the shadows.
The time is now, my friend! Time to listen
and wake up! Time to move from shadow living and enjoy the freedom and life
your King is calling you to.
My prayer for you, for all of us, is that
God in His mercy may grant us the ability and willingness to hear His voice
calling, and that we may respond with eagerness and delight.
Grace and peace be with you!
Carlie
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