Psalm 91:1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. To dwell means to live or stay as a permanent resident of a place, and to abide is a synonym for dwell meaning to continue or to stay (often in a particular location or relationship). Living and continuing in His shelter, His shadow is so critical for protection. Shelter is a covering, a hiding place, secrecy, and shadow is shade, protection. In the wilderness a hiding place is useful, but a covering is often critical when a sandstorm blows up or the night turns cold. Shade is also critical in order to keep from being roasted in the hot sun. Just think of Jonah as he waited for the destruction of Nineveh. He begged for shade because it was so hot. It’s also interesting that the name used here is the Almighty and the Most High. Almighty is a name reminding me that God is mightier than any enemy I may face and perfectly capable of solving any problem. The Most High reminds me of His sovereignty over all things as well as the fact that He is above all things and had a much better view of things than I do. If I live where He is, He is my watch tower. He sees trouble far off and prepares me to deal with it (or shelters me from it sometimes). The shadow is less solid than the shelter, but in the midst of a storm or a fight, He is a mighty protection for me. Either way though, to take advantage of these gifts, I have to dwell and abide with Him. I can’t wander away, or step out from His shadow. I have to stay close. Closer…. Closer….
Psalm 61:4Let me live forever in your sanctuary, safe beneath the shelter of your wings! Interlude. When I run to God for safety and take shelter in Him, it’s a peaceful, secure place. And I am happy to be there. I want to stay there forever, and God is happy to let me… But, unfortunately, I have a tendency to wander out from the sanctuary of His wings. One thing God has really been working on in my life is contentment. A lot of the issues my family faces is because I struggle with this area. No, I don’t feel the need to get the biggest or best TV or car or whatever, but I want my family to have what they want and need… and that can be difficult, even in the best of times. Additionally, I struggle with contentment in other areas of my life. Being discontent is really telling God that I don’t trust Him, that I don’t think He has my best in mind. That’s sad. It’s subtle, because I often don’t realize that discontent is sneaking up until after it’s pounced on me. To live in the sanctuary of God forever is great, but if I’m not content to stay there, it’s a pipe dream. When I am discontent, I go looking for something or someone to fix my problem, to provide that contentment. If I don’t look to God and remind myself of the blessings I already have, then I’m wandering out from under His wings and into a dark and dangerous world. It’s easy to do, too. So, when I’m overwhelmed (usually because of problems I’ve brought on myself through my selfish choices), I run to God. He welcomes me into Him arms and is quite happy for me to stay and snuggle. But I get antsy and squirm out. And He lets me go because He loves me, but he’s waiting for me to come back and sit quietly and peacefully, trusting Him to protect me and love on me. That is contentment – the lap of the Father, letting Him be everything He wants to be and loving me the way He knows best. After all, He IS love.
Psalm 9:9-10The Lord is a shelter for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. Those who know your name trust in you, for you, O Lord, have never abandoned anyone who searches for you. There are a couple of things that stand out to me. First, God never abandons us when we search for Him. Because He will never do this, we can trust in Him. This is a characteristic of God. He is the God Who Does Not Abandon You. I don’t know if there’s an official Hebrew name or word for that, but it’s a good name! The second thing that stood out to me is that the word searches is in present tense. We continually search for God. Have never abandoned is a different tense, saying that from the past to the present it has not happened. So, we continually search for Him and make Him our shelter and refuge. And He never abandons us. He never leaves us hanging or hides from us. He is a our shelter and our refuge, and He wants to be found by us. That’s pretty cool!