There's an overall message here: better to depend on, take refuge, place all your trust in the Lord than in any other entity. Got it. But it's the language used here that stands out to me. "Better to shelter in the Lord." Think back to a few years ago when a virus, unfamiliar to most of us and presented by officials as being a deadly enemy whose vulnerabilities were, as yet, unknown kept us "sheltered" in place. Is it spread strictly through touch or is it airborne? What is the incubation period? Are any of us more susceptible than others? We were told to disinfect our mail, wash our hands frequently, and to stay put. Our homes, for many, became a place of refuge. Social media and virtual meeting sites exploded as people longed for human contact or simply tried to do business. Food delivery services kept "unessential" workers' cupboards full. Governmental supplements quietly and without contact were deposited into our bank accounts to compensate for the lack of jobs or places in which to work. All of this as the powers-that-be attempted to gather information and find some way for us to all return to "normal", to a situation in which the entire globe itself was, once again, our refuge. Shelter.
But even as we attempted to shelter in places where we might have once thought we could never want for anything --food, clothing, a hot shower, a clean bed, family --we discovered outside services were necessary. We are not completely self-sufficient --even in our homes. We cannot survive without a continuous flow of provisions. We depend on contact with other beings and entities. As we learned when we attempted to shelter within our safest places, we need shelter of an entirely different, a divinely perfected caliber.
To shelter in a relationship --All I need is a husband and I will be complete. All I need is a wife and I can be happy. --is no guarantee we will have fullness of joy or eternal life. To shelter in our careers is no promise of security or peace. To shelter in our physicians or even the concept of health perfected cannot provide comfort and encouragement when our hearts are aching from loss. To shelter in our politicians, our teachers, or even our pastors does not assure us we know the truth that provides us with freedom or the strength that allows us to course like eagles through cloudless blue skies. To shelter in anyone or anything but the Lord will always require more. Better to shelter in the Lord.
He has given us many other things --relationships, work to do, bodies, leaders --in which we can place trust momentarily, even superficially; hands and talents through which He can conduct His business. Trusting in the helps that He has placed before our eyes and ears, is never meant to be a substitute for abiding in Him, but a picture of, a glimpse of what He does for those who seek Him. Better to shelter in the Lord, the Lord our refuge and strength in all things, for all circumstances, and for all eternity.
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ReplyDeleteI can't say I've achieved any degree of perfection (you of all people know that 😉); yet, He so graciously entrusts to me (and to all His children) His ministry of reconciliation.
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