I take, O cross, thy shadow for my abiding place;
I ask no other sunshine than the sunshine of His face;
Content to let the world go by, to know no gain nor loss,
My sinful self, my only shame, my glory all the cross.
Sometimes when I feel absolutely overwhelmed with fear or guilt, weariness... When I’ve really done something wrong. I backstabbed somebody with some snappy word or I’ve just been peevish with my husband. Or when I feel under spiritual attack... I picture myself running – I can’t actually run – but I picture myself racing to the cross and sitting at its foot with my arms wrapped tightly around it, huddled real close, hanging on as tight as I can. Beneath the cross of Jesus, under the sign of His blood, that's the safest place to be when I’m feeling guilty, or fearful, or weary. It’s the safest place to be when the enemy comes on strong.
I thought about that when I read a book called The Great Boer War. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle tells of a small detachment of British troops who were surprised by an overwhelming enemy force. The British had to quickly retreat under the heavy fire with hardly time at all to carry with them their wounded. Out there in the battlefield, the injured men faced certain death. One of them lying there was a corporal in the Ceylon Mounted Infantry. He realized that they would only survive if some way they could come immediately under the protection of a Red Cross flag. The corporal had strength enough to use blood from his wounds and the wounds of his friends to paint, as it were, a large red cross – with blood – on a piece of white cloth. They held high the flag with the blood‑stained cross and when the enemy saw it, they held their fire. The British were able to move their wounded to a safe place.
What a powerful story, right? And that same story about the blood is in Exodus 12 where it says, "When I see the blood, I will pass over you." And it's also why staying beneath the cross of Jesus, friend, that is the best, the only place to be whether you're under spiritual attack or feeling guilty. The cross of Christ is a red cross – a bloodstained cross – and the enemy doesn't dare touch us when we are safe in His shadow.
Used by permission of
JONI AND FRIENDS
P.O. Box 3333
Agoura Hills, CA 91376
© Joni and Friends