Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.  I will say of the Lord,  “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”  Psalm 91:1-2 NIV

Psalm 91 is one of my favorite Psalms.  It is a Psalm of protection.  It promises God’s protection for us in the midst of any circumstance we may face.  Peggy Joyce Ruth has a wonderful book that she has written about the power of this Psalm and testimonies from those who have prayed it in troubled situations and seen miraculous outcomes.  It is a short book and a wonderful read, I strongly recommend it.

It opens up by saying “whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High”.  When we think of a shelter we think of a safe haven, protection from the storm.  God provides us protection from the storms of life.  In order to be protected, however, we must dwell in His shelter.  We must live our life in a close relationship with Him.  When I hear the word shelter I automatically think of storms.  Louisiana sees its fair share of hurricanes.  These hurricanes often bring tornadoes and extremely strong winds with them. I have often thought how great it would be to have a storm shelter built in the ground near our home.  It would be nice to have a nice comfy shelter that the family could get into when storms come our way.  Now let’s say that we built such a shelter but we didn’t go into it.  The shelter would not shelter us, right?  We have to be in the shelter to be protected by it.  As Christians we have to dwell in Christ and have Him live inside of us in order for us to be able to rest in the shelter that He provides.

You often hear me speak of using God as a 911.  By that, I mean that if you are like I used to be, then you try to go it on your own until things get totally out of hand.  When that happens, you turn to God in a panic state and want him to clean up the mess you made.  The problem with living that way is that you are gonna make one mess after the other.  If we are not living a life in Christ then we are gonna make some big mistakes.  I know from experience, trust me.

This world can be really scary at times.  I don’t know how people do it without God.  I have watched people suffer through some really hard times. I have tried to talk to them about what Jesus can do for them and some look at me as though I have three heads.  They just don’t get it.

I don’t know about you, but I really like to feel safe and secure.  I have learned the hard way that if I put my faith in God and walk closely with Him that He will shelter me.  He truly is my refuge and my strong fortress.  He is my shelter in the eye of the storm.  Ryan Stevenson has a wonderful song out called “In the Eye of the Storm”.  It talks about how God is in control.  We only need to trust in Him.

If your life seems stormy and scary, remember that we all have access to a storm shelter.  We all can run to God and receive His protection.  We can abide in His shelter and rest in his fortress.  If you are experiencing a particularly rough storm in your life right now, seek shelter. Rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

If you are abiding in the shelter and see someone else battling the storm, take time to invite them into the shelter that you have found.

My apologies for not publishing this blog on Saturday. I was severely under the weather but feeling much better now!

Praise God, Louisiana did not experience the fury of Hurricane Nate this weekend.  Please remember to be in prayer for those area that have suffered severe hurricane damage.

Have a great day!