The Shelter & The Shadow

Psalm 91 – a favorite chapter of many.

The first verse states, “Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty…”

So where is the shelter of the Most High and how do we live there?  It’s a place of relationship with Him.  His shelter is His great love and all we have to do is believe in Him, repent of our sins, and automatically we are there.  Notice the verse says “dwells” which implies that we must stay there and not wander off.  Can we wander off from God’s love?  No way. It’s always there.  But we can make choices to leave and close the door, submitting ourselves to whatever lies “out there.” His love remains.  But we have to choose to live there.

There’s rest in his “shadow?” What in the world does that mean? Life is hard, like a hot sunny day where if we stay out too long, we get heat exhaustion and almost faint.  But if we can just find a shady spot where the cool breezes blow, we know we’ll be okay.  God’s like that.  He’s our shady spot, the shadow under which we can rest and be restored.

Finally, this psalm begins with the word and the call to “whoever.”  Remember John 3:16?  God so loved us…that whoever believes…shall have eternal life.  God offers this shelter of love and shadow of restoration to anyone who would like to come out of the heat…into the shade…where the cool breezes blow…where rest is found.