in the shadow
At one time or another, all of us have been in the shadow, in situations that feel like death itself, and try us to the very core. David writes about this when he says, I walk through the valley of the shadow of death (Psalm 23:4). Job speaks of his being in a land of darkness and of the shadow of death, without order (Job 10:21). The word here for "shadow of death" is a compound of two words in Hebrew: shadow and death. Notice, therefore, that the description of these circumstances means not death, but rather its shadow, such as when we're in grief over a death or in fear of death. Even so, no one wants to be in shadowy circumstances such as these.
But that word "shadow" in the Hebrew Bible is also deeply connected to God. David writes: Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the Shadow of the Almighty (Psalm 91:1); Keep me as the apple of Your Eye, hide me under the Shadow of Your Wings (Psalm 17:8); The Lord is your Keeper, The Lord is your Shade(ow) upon your right hand (Psalm 121:8). In this shadowy sense, God is our Protector, shielding us from the scorching sun by day or the freezing moon by night (Psalm 121:6). You and I surely want to be in this Shadow, in the Shade of God's Protection.
So I wonder if, when we're experiencing the "shadow of death", we might actually be closer to being in the "Shadow of God" than we imagine. Is it possible that God allows us to come into the shadows so that we might come into The Shadow? Or, at the very least, when we feel the terrifying shadows rising up around us, perhaps we can then look up for the protecting Shadow descending upon us, so that we can find comfort, peace, and courage for living in shadowy times.