He who dwells in the shelter of the most high God will abide in the shadow of the Almighty
Psalm 91 1
I grew up in the mountain community called big bear lake- in Southern California.
It snowed a lot in the 70’s.
Our power went out all the time.
To keep our house warm my dad would start a fire and keep it going all night long.
Once, my father wanted to get the fire blazing really quickly.
He started a little fire, then stood back and took a Dixie cup 1/2 full of kerosine on threw it on the fire.
As me and my brothers were sitting on the couch about 10 feet away, instantly as the keorosene lsnded we could feel the incredible wash of instant heat that forced a blast of heat at us.
Swooooosh.
The keorosene did what my dad wanted. Quick fire.
The entire downstairs heated up and lit up and filled the room in a flash.
In seconds it was over and all we had was an incredible contained fire.
And a few singed eyebrows. :)
As I reflect on those days, it seems like we looked to our father to provide shelter and protection for us boys….mom too.
It was a delight when dad would help us build card fort or blanket forts.- it usually included couch cushions and a coffee table to make the best fort.
Security for all of us comes from unlikely sources– I spoke at the Renton corps two Sunday’s ago about a favorite place of mine– the bottom of the swimming pool.
I spoke about the comfort and serenity it brings me to when I’m skimming the bottom of the pool. It feels like safety and calm to me.
We used to go to Palm Springs when I was a kid.
We’d go to a place called Sams Family Spa for the weekend to get out of the snow. The wind blows nearly ever afternoon– as we got into the big pool in the afternoon, the wind would whip up the water and stir it and cause little waves in the pool. It was on windy days that I appreciated to bottom of the pool the most.
The contrast from windy and waved to calm and serine gave me peace. I felt sheltered from the wind with the blanket of water covering me.
It was a private, sort of secret place for me.
Did you know that there is a pace in God- a secret place- for those who want to seek refuge?
It is a literal place of physical safety and security that God tells us about in this Psalm 91.
Dwelling in the shelter of the Most High is the OT’s way of teaching faith.
This gives us the most intense illustration of every essence of a personal relationship with God.
Man has no innate built-in shelter.
Alone he stands.
Standing Unsheltered against the elements and must run to the Shelter Himself.
In this psalm, God offers us more than protection- it is as if He rolls out the hospitality and personally invites us in.
I cannot talk about this kind of security unless I talk about a white water rafting trip Camie and I took with some friends in 1993 prior to us going to Training College.
We went with a big group of friends on this incredible trip down the Grand Canyon in the Colorado River.
Half way down the 100 mile trip we stopped for the night on a sand bar.
We got there before the sun went down and we picked out a place to lay our giant tarp for all of us– about 25 people– to sleep.
What we didn’t predict, and neither did our Hualapai Indian Guides couldn’t either, was a unpredictable desert rain storm.
Out of no where came first the wind, then the clouds, and then…, the deluge.
Not just rain, but lightening and wind-
The lightening lit up the canyon we were in and waterfalls appeared from nowhere and were exposed during the lightening strikes!! It was beautiful!
And then we were all laid out in the open with all our bedding getting drenched-
I attempted with a few others to take another tarp and quickly make a lean-to— it was not effective at all.
Once our Indian guides got tired of us screaming and fighting with each other-
Drake- the biggest Native American ever took my little tarp down and made it into an effective covering for us.
Drake had to do what we couldn’t on our own.
Just as the shelter we attempted to provide for ourselves is innadequate,
So is our own attempts at providing ourselves spiritual and emotional and eternal shelter-
Our God can do that.
Although I have never forgotten these experiences,.. Blanket forts, fire warmth, swimming pool serinitu, Grand Canyon tent building.
Just as these shelters provided moments for me-,
Our Heavenly Father has a secret place in His arms that protects us from the storms raging in the world around us.
Perhaps the question is how do I get there?
To that secret shelter.
It comes by faith and placing yourself under His authority.
You have to cuddle up to Him,,.
Come running if you’d like-
jump into His arms-
He will catch you and keep you safe.
He is Our Shelter!
pkriskent 