Shadow Dwellers

Shadow Dwellers.  To know one is to be blessed.  Shadow Dwellers are content to make a difference in the shadows even as the spotlight is shining on the person beside them.  They demand nothing for themselves.  They simply stand where no one really sees them and does whatever it is that God is calling them to do.  Daniel Nash who died in 1831 at the age of 56 was a Shadow Dweller.  For seven years he partnered with that great evangelist, Charles Finney.  Finney preached.  Nash prayed.  Before Finney arrived to preach, Nash had been praying for several weeks.  And while Finney stood in the pulpit before the crowds, Nash was alone in some nearby house praying.

 

How much difference did Nash make?  Within seven months of his death, Finney gave up the evangelistic work for a ministry as a pastor in a church.  One of the great Shadow Dwellers in the Holy Word is the disciple and Apostle, John.  He shared leadership among the Twelve and later in the early church with the Apostle Peter.  As we read the book of Acts, we see Peter and John moving forward together in ministry after the Day of Pentecost.  Much of the first part of the story recorded in Acts speaks of them ministering together.  But, it is always Peter who speaks.  John is there, but Peter always seems to be stepping forward into the spotlight. 

 

Like Daniel Nash, the Apostle John was a Shadow Dweller.  The Word never reveals any resentment or ill will between the two.  John was a spiritual giant in his own right, but he never sought the spotlight for himself.  He was content to be where God had put him.  If we look behind us, we may well see Shadow Dwellers in our own walk of faith.  And, it may even be that God is calling us to walk in someone else's shadow so that some holy work might be accomplished.  Wherever it is that He has put us, let us be thankful for the opportunity to serve according to His pleasure.