GOD GIVES US SHELTER
“Whoever dwells in in the shadow of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.” Psalm 91:1
When we go camping we enjoy spending some time in nature. That can quickly change when it begins to rain, or if we wake up looking into the eyes of a skunk. Then we’d much rather be inside a house where we are safe. We all have been blessed with a house to shelter us and keep us safe and warm.
People have found shelter in many different places. Years ago people lived in caves and tents made of animal hides. Some lived in mud huts or sod houses. We know some people today live in houses made of ice, sticks, stones, and mud. Most of our houses are made of wood, concrete, and brick.
Houses and shelters are mentioned in the Bible. Jonah made a hut for himself as he watched Nineveh. The Israelites lived in tents for 40 years while they wandered in the wilderness. Poor Job heard the terrible news that his sons and daughters were having a party in the oldest brother’s home when a strong wind swept in from the desert and blew the house over killing all of them. One day when Jesus was teaching the people inside a crowded house, some men opened the roof to let down the bed of a paralyzed man.
We can compare God to a place of shelter. Psalm 91:1 says: “Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.” With God we find shelter from temptation. Jesus never owned a house. He told his disciples: “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head” (Luke 9:58). Once Jesus said we are like baby chicks huddling under their mother hen’s wings.
The Bible says that although we have shelters to keep us safe and comfortable, we should not become too attached to them, because he has a place planned for us that will be far better than our earthly home. It’s our home in heaven. Jesus said: “My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” (John 14:2,3). That house will be better than we can imagine. It will be a safe shelter for us forever.
A Shelter from tempest, from wind and from storm,
A Shelter from judgment, a Shelter from harm—
Yes, this is the Shelter, the Shelter we need,
And He is a Shelter indeed!
From Living for Jesus by Reynold R. Kremer