The Shelter
We all have things we want to be saved from.
Covid, any other sickness, too warm or too cold weather, annoying habits from our partners, the noise of our children, you name it.
Make a list from all the things you want to be saved from. Write them down before you read further.
When Jesus the Saviour, the Messiah, came into the world the Jews expected Him to save them from the Roman oppression they were under.
Throughout their whole history, in fact since the whole history of mankind recorded in the bible, since the rebellion of men against God He promised them a Saviour.
But what did we need saving from? The last sentence provides the answer: for our rebellion against God. We needed to be saved from our sin, which now had taken over the nature of mankind.
When we (the first men) first sinned we lost our ability to obey God. We lost our ability to have a free choice in how we live when it comes to moral living.
Men were not made to be independent beings. Therefore there is always someone above us.
Initially this was God, our Maker, the Creator of the world, who always has our good in mind.
But when we rebelled against Him we submitted ourselves to satan, the accuser of our souls, the fallen angel that was jealous of God and wanted to be like Him. That wanted to be God.
Satan was jealous at God’s children, mankind, as well. We were made in God’s image after all but he was not. The beauty and power God had given Him was not enough for him.
When he couldn’t get what he wanted he went after God’s children, trying to destroy them and separate them from the One that made them and loved them deeply. Out of pure spite.
And he succeeded. In part. Temporarily.
But God promised men a Saviour right after they had fallen away from Him by giving in to satan’s temptation.
And that’s what we are saved from when we give the autority over our lives back to God.
When we let Him be our Head, the One we submit to.
We are saved from the power of satan over us that always tries to destroy us though sickness and disasters and deception.
And we are saved from our sin. Our sinful nature that is not able to obey God and brings destruction in our lives and that of others.
When we think about God, we often think about the things we want to be saved from but are not saved from. But we have to be honest and ask ourselves what it really is we need saving from.
God is more interested in the eternal well being of our soul than in our temporary comfort.
And many of the things we suffer have their root in sin. That does not mean that all suffering like disease are the direct result from specific sin in our lives but sickness came into the world through men’s rebellion against God.
Thankfully He gave us a cure, which is only found in Jesus Christ.
Through faith in Him our sin is reckoned to have been punished by Him. He himself paid the price for our sin when He died on that cross so we don’t have to bear it anymore.
We can now be in rightstanding with God if only we accept what Jesus did for us and the result will be that we are delivered from many of the consequenses of our rebellion against Him. Sickness is one of them but also protection from other things like the heat of the sun.
However certain protection is only found “under His wings, in the secret place”.
Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge,
even the Most High, your dwelling,
there shall be no evil befall you,
neither shall any plague come near your tent;
Psalm 91 Read here more about this Shelter
When we become a believer we don’t automatically experience all the benefits we have been given through the substitutional death of Jesus for us.
Like I mentioned before, life is a journey, and when we become believers we haven’t reached the end of our destination, rather we just started to go into the right direction.
And the right direction is all about growing in our surrender to God and acknowledging His rightful place. Coming to the acknowledgment of who He is once in our life is not enough. We need to make this practical by appling it to all the specific parts of our lives. Are we willing to obey Him when it comes to choosing our daily activities? Or are there some things we are still not willing to let go of?
There probably are…and willing to surrender these things is a journey we are walking the rest of our lives. And the more we surrender to Him the more He can protect us. That makes sense right?
Parents cannot protect their children if they don’t obey and cross the street without looking. The same goes with God.
So what is this “secret place” (as some translations call it), this shelter?
It means we put our complete trust in Him, just read the psalm it’s pretty clear.
As believers we can still live in fear. Or…we can choose to trust Him and stay connected with Him and then we are protected. We often prefer it the other way around: to see God first and then to trust Him.
But God gave us enough prove that He is trustworthy and good when Jesus died for us.
One way to regain and grow our trust in Him is by looking again to what He did for us and keep reminding ourselves of this daily through taking daily communion. You do not have to go to church for that but you can do it in your own house either with others or “alone”, just you and God.
Just take some red juice or whatever drink works for you and some food preferably something you can break like bread or crackers as a reminder that the body of Jesus was broken for you. Ask God to bless it so it won’t be just food but that you might experience the benefits of Jesus death while eating it. Like healing, peace, and a sense of his presence. Since Jesus died to give us all these things.
The main thing I think is that we stay in his presence and like the word says, to have communion with God.
Because he (or she) has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will set him on high, because he has known My name.
He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
and I will deliver him and honor him.
With long life I will satisfy him
and show him My salvation.
So we live in this Shelter when we trust Him, obey Him, and stay in communication with Him throughout our day. It’s through being connected with Him that He protects us.
Peace!
You are the treasure He came to find.
Read here how to become His:
Creator's Joy 