Covered by His Power—How God’s Anointing Transforms Your Ordinary into the Extraordinary!

Having discovered that the name Bezalel means “in the shadow of God,” I thought it useful to dig deep into the Scriptures to learn more about what it means to be under the shadow of the Almighty.

From my study, I found that the Bible identifies the shadow of the Almighty as both a place of divine protection and a place of divine conception. Let’s look at each of those descriptions insofar as they pertain to the Bezalel Principle.

Divine Protection

Probably the most evident biblical description of the shadow of the Almighty is the one that we find in Psalm 91. After inviting us to “abide under the shadow of the Almighty,” the psalmist then painted a vivid panorama of what it looks like to enjoy the divine protection that comes only from the Presence of the Lord. His shadow is our secret place where we can abide in total safety, security, and peace.

Other passages of Scripture confirm that His shadow is our place of protection. In Isaiah 51:16, the Lord declared, “I have covered you with the shadow of My hand.” In another place, David prayed, “Keep me as the apple of Your eye; hide me under the shadow of Your wings” (Psalm 17:8). Moreover, the Hebrew word most frequently translated as “shadow” in the King James Bible also appears three times as “defense.”

When Bezalel was making the Tabernacle of Meeting and all of its furnishings, it would have been a significant advantage for him to know that he was under the Lord’s protection. One who is assured of the Lord’s protection and defense will invariably be more productive than one who is uncertain of security. To illustrate this point, consider the words that David spoke to encourage Solomon in I Chronicles 22:18-19. Just before Solomon began to build the first Temple in Jerusalem, David explained to Solomon that God had given Israel rest on every side from their enemies. During his reign, David had already subdued the enemies of Israel on all sides, and therefore they would not be a threat to Solomon nor an impediment to his productivity. Rather than spending his days fighting battles and defending the land, Solomon had the luxury of giving full attention to his building projects. Because there was “rest on every side,” Solomon was free to “arise and build the sanctuary of the LORD,” without any concern of attack.

Note carefully the words David spoke. First, in I Chronicles 22:18, David asked rhetorically, “Has (the Lord) not given you rest on every side?” Then, in the very next verse, David added, “Therefore arise and build.” David’s words to his son give us an example of what biblical “rest” should be. Resting in the Lord does not mean that one becomes passive or inactive. Instead, resting in the Lord is the ability to be productive through His empowerment, while confidently trusting in the shadow of His protective hand.

Imagine how challenging it would be if you had to build and defend yourself at the same time. Just ask Nehemiah, who faced a threat of attack that was so menacing that he instructed all of his builders to keep a sword girded on their side while they rebuilt the wall of Jerusalem (see Nehemiah 4:18). By the grace of God upon them, Nehemiah’s men were able to finish the wall within a miraculous time span, completing the project in just 52 days (see Nehemiah 6:15). Their speed and productivity notwithstanding, think of how disconcerting it must have been for them to work while keeping a constant eye out for a sudden onslaught from the enemy.

In Christ, you have the same advantage that both Solomon and Bezalel enjoyed. You can be fruitful and productive in the Kingdom of God with full assurance that the Lord is your shield and defender. You are under His shadow, and He is covering all of your blind spots. Jesus subdued all of your enemies at the Cross, and He has given you rest on every side. Therefore, you are free to arise and build with absolute peace and total confidence.

Divine Conception

The Bible also reveals the shadow of the Almighty to be a place of divine conception. This second biblical description of the Lord’s shadow is perhaps less evident in Scripture, yet it is nonetheless true. To verify this point, we need look no further than the story of Mary the mother of Jesus.

Mary must have felt bewildered when an angel appeared to her, announcing that she would conceive a Child in her womb. Furthermore, she would do so without having known a man intimately. Without some type of divine intervention, such a conception would be a physical impossibility. Though Mary believed the angel’s word, she asked the obvious question, wondering aloud, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” In response, the angel declared, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:34-35).

Did you notice the key word in the angel’s response to Mary’s question, or did your eyes read past it? Take a closer look. What did the angel say would happen when the Holy Spirit came upon Mary? The power of the Highest would “overshadow” her. Once the power of God overshadowed Mary, it made absolutely no difference that she had not taken the necessary measures to make conception a possibility. Everything changed when God overshadowed her.

When Mary conceived, the Child inside her womb seemed completely natural. By all physical measures, He appeared to be an ordinary Child. A supernatural conception gave way to a natural birth. Yet wrapped inside that tiny and delicate bundle of flesh and bone was the fullness of the Godhead in bodily form (see Colossians 2:9). Ultimately, when God overshadowed Mary, not only was she empowered to conceive, but she conceived something far greater than herself.

Compare Mary’s experience to that of Bezalel. An ordinary man from the tribe of Judah used natural acacia wood to make a box, which he overlaid both inside and out with natural gold. The acacia wood that he used to make the Ark came from a natural tree, and the gold with which he overlaid the Ark initially had come from the wealth of the Egyptians. None of the resources that Bezalel used to make the Tabernacle and its furnishings dropped from Heaven. All of the raw materials were completely natural. Yet the finished product was a Tabernacle that was inhabited by the Presence of Almighty God Himself.

In similar fashion to Mary’s experience, the Holy Spirit came upon Bezalel, according to Exodus 31:1-3. When the Holy Spirit came upon him, the power of the Highest literally overshadowed Bezalel, which would make his name quite appropriate, especially considering that such an experience would have been an extreme rarity in those days. Because of the work of the Holy Spirit, Bezalel “conceived,” in a sense, and “gave birth” to something far beyond his natural capacity. What he “birthed” looked to be completely natural, given that he fashioned it with natural raw materials. But the end result was a Tabernacle that was so sacred that even Bezalel himself was not permitted to enter the Holy Place when all was said and done. (Recall that only the priests and Levites could enter the Tabernacle of Moses.)

Just as Mary and Bezalel experienced, you will find that divine conception is possible for you when the power of the Highest overshadows you! Of course, there will never be another literal virgin birth, a phenomenon that was unique to the birth of Jesus. But the principle holds true when speaking in a figurative sense. If you are in Christ, then you have the Holy Spirit, and you have everything that you need to conceive something directly from the Lord, something divine—be it a ministry, a business project, or something of the like. Perhaps you might object to that statement, claiming that you lack adequate training, experience, education, expertise, or even time. Remember, however, that Mary had not taken the necessary steps for physical conception either. When the power of the Highest overshadows you through the work of the Holy Spirit within you, then you are able to bypass the conventional steps that would typically be required for “conception,” and in due time you will give birth to something that is far beyond you, though it may appear natural. The end result will fully reflect the will of God for your life, and ultimately, you will not be able to take any of the credit, because you will know that without the Holy Spirit, conception would have been absolutely impossible.

When the power of the Lord overshadows you, the limitations of your flesh cease to matter. Many people find reasons to limit themselves based on any number of variables. They believe their “ceiling” is determined by their level of education, their scope of experience, or their connections. In some cases, people set limits for themselves based on their race, ethnicity, or gender (male or female). While those distinctions will always exist in the flesh, when considering what God has assigned for you to do, you need not take any of those questions into account. All of those variables become simply irrelevant when you are overshadowed.

Perhaps you have believed something in the depth of your heart that has caused you to place a ceiling on yourself, albeit subconsciously. Sometimes we allow the words of our relatives, employers, teachers, or colleagues to etch lies on the tablet of our heart that make us believe that we can only go so far or accomplish so much. But those self-imposed limitations begin to fade when the power of God overshadows us.

What does it look like to be overshadowed? In my childhood, from time to time, I would enjoy standing in an open field in the evening hours, with the sun directly behind me, so that my shadow would look extra tall. Of course, while my shadow may have appeared elongated due to the position of the sun, the extent of my shadow was still completely limited to my physical shape and stature. But imagine how different things would be if there were a giant rock standing between the sun and me. Where I grew up, just outside of Atlanta, Georgia, there is a historic state park that features a massive granite outcrop known as Stone Mountain. While the term mountain is used loosely, given that it is, in reality, a granite dome, the rock is quite impressive, towering at an elevation of over 1,680 feet above sea level and over 820 feet above the surrounding area. Right in front of the rock is a large grassy field where visitors can enjoy recreational activities. If I, as a child, had tried to see my shadow while standing in the field at the side of the rock opposite the position of the sun, I would have been quite disappointed. Why? The rock would be between the sun and me, meaning that my frame would no longer cast a shadow on the ground, being overshadowed by the rock.

Though this illustration might seem ridiculous, consider the imagery. God has placed you under the shadow of a rock that is much higher than you. David wrote in Psalm 61:2, “When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” Beneath the shelter of that rock, you are under a shadow that reaches much further than your own shadow could ever reach. Because the power of the Most High has overshadowed you, the reach of your shadow is no longer limited to your size or stature. The Holy Spirit working in you and overshadowing you will cause the reach of your influence to extend far beyond what it would be able to touch otherwise.

Just as the Lord overshadowed Mary, the Lord wants to overshadow you. The Greek word episkiazō (ἐπισκιάζω), translated “overshadow” in Luke 1:35, appears five times in the New Testament. With each usage of the Greek word episkiazō, the glory and power of Jesus is revealed in some way. First, in the announcement of His birth, we see His glory on display in His incarnation. Later, three of the five appearances of the word come in the three unique accounts of the Transfiguration, when a cloud “overshadowed” the disciples on the mountaintop and the divine majesty of Jesus transcended His earthly Body for a brief moment. Finally, we find the same Greek word in Acts 5:15, when Peter’s shadow fell on people with severe infirmities, causing them to arise from their sickbeds. Though this fifth appearance of the word episkiazō is a reference to the shadow of Peter, it is nonetheless the power of Jesus being made manifest through a human vessel. In each case, the shadow corresponded to the greatness of Jesus rather than the frailty of man. When the power of the Lord overshadows you, the end result should always point people to the glory and majesty of Jesus.

Shadows always point to a substance. If the shadow that your life casts is limited to your size, shape and stature, then you are living in your own finite power and self-effort. But if your life casts a shadow that is proportional to the measure and stature of Christ, then your reach will far supersede your own capacity, and when all is said and done, Jesus will be glorified. Stop limiting yourself to your own capacity. It is time for you to live the overshadowed life!