Gimme Shelter

The title of an old Rolling Stones song and in reality, the title of how our God cares for us, which is way. more important. The Psalmist speaks to the shelter of God in Psalm 91, where it says Psalm 91:¹ Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty ² This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him. ³ For he will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease ⁴ He will cover you with his feathers.  He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection. ⁵ Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night, nor the arrow that flies in the day. ⁶ Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness, nor the disaster that strikes at midday. ⁷ Though a thousand fall at your side,

 though ten thousand are dying around you, these evils will not touch you. This shelter we live in is not a place where we are paralyzed and cannot get out from under this shelter, but it is mobile and we keep this shelter with us wherever we go. God is our refuge and our place of safety, so we trust Him alone. You might say, "Him alone?" That is what that verse says in verse 2. What do you think the word "alone" means? ALONE. Which means no other options or directions, just Jesus.

We learn to rely on God's promises, which are all true and very present in our lives today, and in verse 4, the psalmist says He will cover you with his feathers. Oh, those feathers of protection. The word "cover" really speaks to me, and that mirrors what Paul said about the weapons of the Spirit of God, and more specifically, our shield of faith. We are protected, and as the last part of the verse says, His faithful promises are your armor and protection. So what is our response to such words as written in Psalm 91? The best choice would be to not only believe it, but also immerse ourselves in that truth. Immerse, you might say? Yes. Make it a place of foundation in our thinking and in our faith. We must admit our faith always needs a "shot" every once in a while, and this is a very strong shot of power that we need to live this life of victory in Jesus. We go from "what am I going to do" to "God's got this!" And it is real because it is not just me saying it, but God's Word saying it. I guess the other option would be to doubt God's Word is true, which is a very bad move in this faith walk.

In the battle of good and evil, there will be those who come through it trusting God, knowing He is fighting our battles, and those who are casualties, who lack any faith at all in God or His word. I just choose to trust "completely" His Word as true and believe He is here and working. This is natural because the Holy Spirit is in me, and His control is what scripture calls "the Spirit-filled life." Paul wrote this in Romans 8:¹⁰ And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. ¹¹ The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.

We are secure, and God is our security. Just trust Him, and He will always come through. ALWAYS. I don't say these things because my belief is so strong, but because His Word and His promises can be relied on, which is what verse 4 says: His faithful promises are your armor and protection. When we say "gimme shelter," He says "I got this!"

Today's Message,

David Warren