God made man in His image and declared us good.  God said the creation of man was GOOD GOOD,  scripture emphasizing the exceeding goodness of this creative effort.  A lot has been said about “being made in the image of God.”  But a new idea which the Lord gave me as a result of a word search is that “image” has its root meaning in the word “in the shade of”, which I believe may mean “ in his shadow.”

Think of yourself as God’s shadow:  Where He walks you walk.  How He moves is how you move. He sits. You sit.  He reaches out.  You reach out.  You are in His image.  You are as much a reflection of Him as a shadow is of some person.

How does this fact bless you?  How does this reality make your soul well?  The Almighty God created you in His image because He profoundly loves you.  His intention is to shine through you.  He wants to reflect himself in you, so completely that those around you see God.

God is in You, even when there is tragedy and suffering.  His creative energy is at work through you, even when you are down and out.  His Spirit is hovering and breathing and moving and communicating with you all the time — because that is His nature. And you and He are one.

Hear the words of our Lord Jesus, said to his Heavenly Father before he was crucified. (John 17: 21-24)  “Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.  . . may they also be in us. . . . I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one — I in them and you in me — so that they may be brought to complete unity. . . .”

Jesus went on to say, ”I want them to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.” 

Almighty God intends for us to see His Glory, and to know that He loves us. Reflect on this reality when your soul is troubled.  Declare your belief that you are seeing God’s glory — even in the midst of suffering — because that is God’s will for you.  What a blessing?  How can your soul be anything but WELL!?