Shifting Shadows

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.

Great is Thy Faithfulness, now ninety years old, is considered by many to be one of the favorite hymns.  But personally I confess, that after hearing and singing it so many times over the course of my life, I had started to become weary it.  And so it was that recently during a worship service, I was confessing this to the Lord as the song was about to begin.  Truly I wanted to sing the deep truths of the song with heartfelt conviction and without a negative attitude, and genuinely, I wanted the words of mouth to align with my heart.  So I asked the Lord to create in me a new heart that would allow me to bring a true praise offering of worship to Him.

The Father of heavenly lights does not change like shifting shadows.

As the song began, my mind explored an intriguing perspective on the lyrics that excited me and resonated with my soul.  In the musical message, I saw the sun as spiritual imagery demonstrating God's constant faithfulness, contrasted to the moon's ever-changing phases that could be likened to man's perpetual pattern of inconsistency.  




God's goodness, His life-giving strength, and His immutable character could be compared to the qualities of the sun, for just as the sun rises each morning to give its light so powerfully, freely and faithfully, so too, the Lord's mercies are new every morning.  Day by day, of every month, every season and every year, our Heavenly Father provides for our needs.  He is faithful to forgive, encourage, and give us hope for the future with the truth of His Word through His Holy Spirit.  His loving presence is constant and enduring.  Even more immutable than the sun, the Father of heavenly lights does not change like shifting shadows - James 1:17.  As the song testifies, "There is no shadow of turning with Thee." 

Waxing & waning.....our love is like the moon's shifting shadows.

In contrast to the imagery I saw in the sun, I found it fascinating to consider that man's character qualities could be likened to the moon.  Unlike the sun, the moon has no light of its own, rather, it is designed to be a reflector of the sun.  Similarly, man was created in the likeness of God to reflect His image!  As God's image-bearers, sometimes we reflect poorly, and sometimes we reflect more fully. 

Each moon cycle begins with just a sliver of reflection.  The reflective crescent grows and grows each night until the moon is full and fully reflective.  Following this fullness, the moon begins to wane until it is reduced to darkness.  How meaningful this understanding has become to me now, as I see this cyclical pattern as a mirror of mankind.  We too, wax and wane in our love for God and for our fellow man.  At times our love shines fully and brightly, but more often, like shifting shadows, we only dimly reflect our marvelous Maker.  

Yom Teruah - The Feast of Trumpets

Just as each new day is a gift, each new month provides us with new opportunities to grow in our love toward God and our neighbor.  According to the Biblical Hebrew calendar, each new moon (Rosh Chodesh) signals the head(rosh) of a new month(chodesh).  New moons are announced with the blasting of the shofar to signal time for celebration with the realization that by the mercy of God, each new month brings opportunity for rebirth and renewal.  Psalm 81:3 proclaims, "Sound the ram’s horn at the New Moon, and when the moon is full, on the day of our festival."   Each full moon marks the midpoint, the fifteenth day, of each month.  Ordained by God's wisdom, a number of festivals of freedom and abundance, including Passover, Purim and Feast of Tabernacles occur during the time of the full moon. 

In Hebrew, "moon" or “month” is chodesh, meaning renewal.

There is one very special new moon celebration that occurs during the Fall of the year.  It is known in Scripture as the Feast of Trumpets but it is better known as Rosh Hashanna.  This particular new moon celebration is one of the Lord's appointed times for celebrating with the blast of the shofar.  

I find it amazingly significant that the prophetic message of this holy convocation foreshadows the return of the Messiah as the ruling, reigning, conquering King of Creation,  or as the Bridegroom returning for His Bride, or as the Judge of all the earth, or as the Redeemer of Israel - Revelation 11:15, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17.  Among its many messages, the shofar blast on the Feast of Trumpets is a wake-up call, a call to warfare, a cry for help to the Lord, a signal for breaking camp or ushering in a new king.  Let us prepare our hearts.  Let us wake up.  Let us be fully alert and ready as the Day approaches.....the King is coming! - Joel 2:1

“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son” - Galations 4:4

 

 Abba Father,
Oh how we thank You that Your mercies are new every morning.....and every month.....and every year!  We give praise to You for Your faithfulness, even though we are so desperately undeserving and unfaithful!  May we humbly reflect less of us and more of YOU!  Fill us, we pray, with the Light of Your Word through Your Holy Spirit, because it is only through You that we are able to be who You made us to be.  Amen.

How great indeed, is Thy faithfulness!  

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
    for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
    Great is your faithfulness. - Lamentations 3:22-23