Take Shelter
By Jack Wyman
Things are quiet around here.
Not much traffic in the last two days. Not even the mail.
A large winter storm has spread across much of the south and southwest. It’s as cold in Texas—and as wintery—as it is in Maine. Yes, that’s unusual.
The roads don’t get plowed or sanded much in the Lone Star State. There’s no need for it. You don’t go out in this kind of weather. You wait. You stay home, stay safe, and stay warm.
You wait for the ice and snow to melt. You wait for the storm to pass. You don’t worry. You’ve got food and shelter. You’re comfortable. You’re secure. Security is one of our greatest needs. It banishes fear. It offers assurance. It gives hope.
We don’t seek protection by defying a storm. We seek protection from it. We know we must find shelter. True, not everyone does, but most of us do, if we possibly can, as soon as we can. We’re relieved and happy when we do. We warm our hands by a hospitable fire. There’s no place like a snug home in a cold storm.
This Too Shall Pass. Eventually, the weather changes. Temperatures rise, conditions improve, and people venture out.
What’s true meteorologically is true spiritually.
Storms come to us all. Sooner or later, the winds of adversity pick up, the skies of comfort darken, the temperatures of hope grow cold, and the road of encouragement gets slippery. Then it begins to rain doubt; maybe it turns to the sleet of fear or heartache. Clouds of loneliness and despair descend. You look for shelter. You want to turn your heart toward home. You need warmth and protection.
This world can be such a cold and stormy place.
When David sought safety from King Saul in the cave of Adullam, he wrote of his dependence and hope in God.
“Have mercy on me, O God,” he wrote, “have mercy! I look to you for protection. I will hide beneath the shadow of your wings until the danger passes by” (Psalm 57:1).
David had been protected and delivered by God on countless occasions. He knew God could. He believed he would. He had seen his power. He trusted his refuge.
It's hard to improve on the eloquent strength found in the King James Version of Psalm 91:1:
“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.”
What beauty! What power! What promise! The psalmist expands:
God is our refuge. Our fortress. We trust in him to deliver us from the raging storms of life—whenever and however they come. Out in the world, the tempest surges with the dangers of the fowler’s snare—seeking to trap us into sin, despair, depression, and defeat.
The “noisome pestilence”—that odious and annoying cacophony of loud and confusing voices that complain, attack, accuse, alure, and condemn—marks our divided times with a passionate intensity from which there often seems no shelter or escape.
It is the disease of the soul and mind of man. From this our God delivers us.
God covers you with his feathers and shelters you with his wings. His truth is your shield, your defense, your boldness. Your confidence amid the howling gales of apostasy and corruption. God is your shelter in the time of storm, when the dark days come.
Fear not, O Christian. Flee to him. He is your protection from the terror that stalks at night and the fiery arrows of the evil one that fly by day. Do you hang your head low and wonder in perplexity of these troubling times—these “fightings within and fears without”?
Make the Lord God your refuge. Pray to him. Ask God for strength, courage, and the perfect peace that passes the feeble understanding of these desperate and difficult days.
This world is no friend of grace; it groans in the rubble of its own rebellion. The world can neither rescue nor protect you. It sinks beneath the shifting sands of narcissistic anti-Christian, anti-God, and anti-decency belligerence. Satan stokes the hatred of the defiance to the deity.
There is no hope for you there. You can neither save nor redeem this fallen world. Only God can do that—and be certain he will. It will be glorious when he does. In the meanwhile, rest secure in God our Father and our Savior Jesus Christ. Christ will make this world over. You and I will rejoice in that day. The darkness will scatter and the Son will shine.
Until then, the Lord is your rock. He is your fortress. He is your Savior. In him you will find protection, comfort, and security. You will find a home here—and an eternal one in heaven. God is your shield who shall never fail or falter. He is the power who saves you. He is your place of safety (Psalm 18:2).
Don’t be afraid of tomorrow. Don’t be afraid of the storm when it comes.
Why is it we so often find it easier to seek shelter from the natural storms than from the personal ones? Why do we try sheltering ourselves with a wet newspaper, instead of coming in to God, where it is warm and dry and we can warm ourselves by the fire of his eternal love and care?
Lord, increase our faith.
“How often we look upon God,” wrote Scottish preacher and author George MacDonald, “as our last and feeblest resource! We go to him because we have nowhere else to go. And then we learn that the storms of life have driven us, not upon the rocks, but into the desired havens.”
Go to God. He is your refuge. He is your deliverer. In the storms of life, he is with you. He will never abandon you. You can trust him. You can count on him.
He is stronger than your storm. He is your hiding place.
Until the storm passes by.
Take shelter in him.
To order Jack Wyman’s book, “Everything Else: Stories of Life, Faith and Our World”, go to amazon.com, Christian Book Distributors or barnesandnoble.com. It is also available on Kindle and eBooks.
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