Verse: Psalm 91:1

“Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.”

Thoughts

This is a declaration that my wife and I have leaned on many times over the years. When I lost my job and wondered how to pay for college. When we miscarried our first pregnancy. When my father suddenly passed away. When storms of various magnitudes pounded on the doorsteps of our security. It is an assertion that has brought us peace and stillness during those times.

This statement was written by a nomad named Moses whose job was to lead his people around in a desert. Having no settled home, constantly moving from place to place in search of food, pasture, and shelter, and having contact with other nomadic tribes and distant animals, he would have been susceptible to viruses and illnesses to which he was not immune – he often references “pestilences” and “plagues” later in this poem. People were intimately acquainted with change, instability, fear of the unknown, and inherent worry, and Moses surely knew what it was to be insecure and nervous about what a day might bring.

So how did he cope? He knew of a “shelter” that he could escape to during times of uncertainty. It was his private place for breathing deeply, finding perspective, and looking to Someone whose transcendence overshadows it all. It was a place of trust. Safety. And close proximity to the Almighty. This “secret place” was his intentional escape in order to gain perspective, hope, and the will to go on.

What puts you close to the Almighty? Where do you come to realize that His shadow covers you? What place reminds you that He is here? It might be music, prayer, a walk in the woods, an act of love, meditation, art, reading, or a number of different ways to personally connect with your transcendent God. In times like these, overcome debilitating worry, fear, and panic by running to your personal, secret place and dwelling in it. Let His shadow fall over you. Learn to trust. And find rest.