Lent Day 4: Sun and Shield

Would you join me in praying on this fourth lenten morning?

Jesus,

The Logos,

The Word Incarnate,

The Desire of all nations,

The Radiance of God's glory,

We come to You with our hearts.

We come, surrendering our very selves

that You may choose to employ us for Your glory.

Open 

our eyes,

our hearts, our minds, 

our bodies, and all our faculties

to see and partake in wonderful truths,

beautiful promises, loving precepts in Your Word.

Teach us to stand in awe of Your might, beauty, holiness,

and sovereignty as long as we have breath. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen! 

The Sons of Korah write,

“For the Lord God is a sun and shield; 

the Lord bestows favor and honor; 

no good thing does He withhold 

from those whose walk is blameless. 

O Lord Almighty, 

blessed is the one who trusts in you!” 

-- Psalm 84:11-12, NIV

            

Have you, like I, never before pondered the notion of God fashioning the sun to reflect some of His qualities? 

The sun is a star; Jesus refers to Himself as the bright Morning star (Rev. 22:16). The sun grants light to the universe—“nothing is hidden from its heat” (Ps. 19:6). Likewise, Jesus assures us in John 8:12, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness.” 

"Light of the world, You stepped down into darkness

Opened my eyes, let me see

Beauty that made this heart adore You

Hope of a life spent with You

Here I am to worship

Here I am to bow down

Here I am to say that You're my God

You're altogether lovely

Altogether worthy

Altogether wonderful to me."

-- Extracted from Here I Am to Worship, Chris Tomlin

As the sine qua non or the basis of the solar system, the sun sustains life on earth, being the source of heat, energy, and motion. In his discourse to the men of Athens, the apostle Paul clarified in Acts 17:28, “In Him [God] we live and move and have our being.” In his letter to the Colossians, Paul further asserts, “In Him [Christ] all things hold together (1:17).

The writers of Psalm 84 also liken God to a shield. A shield, as we have come to understand the word in our time, depicts a person or any suitable material that protects, blocks, guards, or defends us against blows, dangers, toils, harsh conditions, and the like. In fact, from Genesis to Revelation, the Word remains consistent with the truth of Psalm 46:1, which reads, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”

As we approach the discipline and practice of prayer, what images flood the screen of our minds and hearts?

Do we see Christ as the Sun of righteousness and the Light of the world? Is He our sole vision? Are the very eyes of our hearts enlightened to know the hope to which He has called us, the riches of His glorious inheritance in us, and His incomparably great power for us who believe (Eph. 1:18-19)?

"Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart

Naught be all else to me save that Thou art

Thou, my best thought, by day or night

Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my Light."

-- Extracted from Be Thou My Vision, Ancient Irish Hymn

Do we see the Lord as a shield around us, lifting up our heads (Ps. 3:3) when we are tempted to cower under the enemy’s darts? Do we picture Him as the One who surrounds the righteous with His favor as with a shield (Ps. 5:12)? Do we believe that He is our rock, fortress, deliverer, refuge, stronghold, and the horn of our salvation (Ps. 18:2)?  

"But Thou, oh Lord, are a shield for me

My glory and the lifter of my head."

-- Extracted from Thou, Oh Lord, Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir

May this season of rending counsel our eyes to see glimpses of truth the Lord has reserved for us in His Word! May this season of fasting cause us to feast upon the Bread of Life that nourishes our souls! May this season of mourning crystallize in our minds the notion that God's mercies are renewed to us, as my colleague and friend Christian George puts it, "not only every morning but also every mourning"! 

And may the Father use our lifelong surrender to prepare our hearts to crave the rays of the Sun of righteousness and to surround our souls with the Shield that lifts up our heads!  

Let us pray that we will learn to rely on our Lord to be the lamp for our feet and the light for our path (Ps. 119:105) when darkness and frost seek to overwhelm our wavering hearts. Let us also tell Him that we accept His offer to be our buckler, absorber, buffer, shelter, and bumper when life gets rocky—as is often the case. 

Christ is worthy of our trust!