“sHe who 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.” Ps. 91:1-2
The next 15 verses explain what happens when we dwell in the shelter of the Most High. And you guys it’s incredible. Listen to some of the life giving words that follow the discipline of dwelling.
Rest. (vs 1) Covered and Protected by God Himself (vs. 4) No fear in night or day (5) You will see calamity around you but it won’t come near you (8) No harm will befall you (10) God personally sends angels your way (11) Because you love & acknowledge God he will RESCUE you (14) God will answer, be with you in trouble, deliver you from trouble, satisfy you with long life and show you salvation. (15)
I want that!
You too? Okay, well we need to look at what it means to dwell.
Webster’s:
dwell: live in or at a specified place.
synonyms: reside, live, be settled, be housed, lodge, stay; informalput up; formalabide, be domiciled.
To dwell in the shelter of the Most High is to live in a state of depending on and yielding to God. He is who we wake up to. Not our phones or computers. We go to him for daily food and shelter. He is in our thoughts and hearts all day long because where we live is a part of who we are. We dwell there – the ins and outs of life happen there. It’s reading God’s Word so we know Him more which produces love and trust. It’s cultivating a prayer life and yielding to our Most High God. This is dwelling in the shadow of the Most High.
So let’s talk about the tension in these verses. You may not feel it but I do. When I read these verses I found great comfort but then I quickly thought of a GA friend of mine who has a godly friend – one who would be considered a “dweller” in the Most High from my outside perspective. This woman was 5 months pregnant and went outside to her driveway and was bitten by a rattlesnake. She became extremely ill and she lost her baby. She delivered their dead baby boy who they had already named, prayed over, and were bonding with. She is a strong Christ-follower. Even in all this she gives praise to God. Incredible woman of faith.
When I read all of Psalm 91 I couldn’t get this woman out of my mind. Because she’s a dweller but harm came her way. It in fact took their baby.
So I asked God to open my eyes to this. I trust Him. I trust His word but it didn’t seem to make sense to me. My thoughts even went towards myself and an upcoming surgery I will be facing. 20″ of my diseased colon will be removed (ischemic colitis/recurring volvulus). This will be surgery #6 in the last 10 years and there were 3 prior to that. Not fun. You’ve got your own stuff or know someone else who is walking through tough stuff.
So why all the stuff Lord? Am I not truly dwelling in the shelter of the Most High?
It is worth it to evaluate ourselves honestly before God. To ask Him to reveal what we need to see. He will do it. While He is a God of unconditional love there are conditional promises all throughout the scripture. If -then’s. So I spent time doing that before the Lord. Asking him to search me and try me.
I know I have growth to do in my dwelling for sure. The natural “go-to’s” in my life sadly do not always include running to God. Some times it looks like accomplishing stuff in my own strength before even spending time in the shelter of the Most High. So when other things come my way during the day they pile on top of what Melody planned and Melody’s ideas. I want to grow in the discipline of dwelling. But generally speaking I believe I am a dweller in the Most High. And I think the snake bitten GA girl is a dweller in the shadow of the most High.
So can I trust Psalm 91? Because it talks about no harm coming your way. Calamity won’t come near you…..
Oh Yes, I absolutely can and so can you.
Notice the wording in verse 15 which is what I know the Holy Spirit alerted me to.
God will be with you in trouble (15) – This was the game changer for me. In verse 15 we see that God is with us IN troubled waters. He doesn’t alway take us out of them. But He’s right there with us providing shelter even IN the trouble. Have you experienced this before? I have. Trouble yet a covering of God’s protection surrounding me. Health issues yes, but yet a covering and protection in place that I know is from God. Tough stuff – yes – but a peace and hope at the center of it that can’t be explained other than shelter from God Most High.
Yet contrast this truth with the very next statement in the same verse of scripture….
God will deliver you from trouble (15) – Sometimes God allows the trouble to come our way and is with us IN the trouble and sometimes He delivers us FROM the trouble.
He does both. He chooses. Because He’s God Almighty.
Of course if it were up to us we would choose the “delivered FROM trouble” part of Ps. 91:15 every time but God’s ways are higher than ours. Here’s our good news. Whichever it is – “IN or FROM” the trouble, we will find shelter and rest in our God Most High. Either way – IN or FROM – we have a fortress and a refuge as we dwell in Him.
So let’s dwell and trust in the God Most High and trust that He will do what He says He’ll do.
I needed this. Today. You are in my prayers – as a thankful for these wise words and as a please-care-for-her as you face surgery. Perhaps Amy and I will visit with you during another season of recovery….
Thank you sweet friend – how fun would that be – not the visit we had planned but still could be a fun one.
Thank you for wrestling your way through this – yes – in and from AND with – God is with us. I was thinking today about dwelling being similar to being rooted in – a plant can never wander away from its roots. Thanks for linking with #SmallWonder.
Thanks kelly. I like that word picture for dwelling. So true.
I love that is says “in the shadow of HIs Most HIgh…now thats power, it only takes HIs shadow to keep us safe. Beautiful post.
wonderful point. love that.
Praying about your upcoming surgery, Melody! I didn’t realize you had already been through so much. 🙁 Things like that (and the story of snake bite and loss of a child) do make these passages hard to grasp. But yet we know that to dwell is still our only hope. Our best hope. Where else would we want to be when those hard times come than in the presence of our Lord? Thanks for your willingness to tackle the hard subjects!
Thank you Lisa for your prayers. That means so much to me. yes, indeed He is our only and best hope!
Great sermon for us all. We all either know or have someone on the other side because of sickness and life alerting events.
Thank you!! Love you and will be praying over this next surgery.
Thank you Angee for your prayers. You know sickness all too well and have clung to our God through it all. Love you.