SHELTER IN PLACE

“SHELTER IN PLACE,” I can still remember the first time I heard the phrase.  On April 16, 2007 at Virginia Tech, a lone gunman went on a shooting rampage. The alarm went out and students were told to “Shelter in Place.”  The authorities were not sure who they were searching for, how many shooters were involved, their location or if and when they would strike again.  Students were instructed to lock all doors and stay where they were until further notice.  This limited the number of people on the street as police conducted a search for the gunman and also lowered the risk of more victims being shot down by the perpetrator or getting caught in police crossfire.  It was finally learned that the lone gunman had committed suicide and the “All Clear” signal was given to allow students to leave their shelters.  Since that time, there have been terroristic shootings in more schools, malls, coffee shops, military bases and even churches and we wonder where can we “shelter in place?” 

This has been a week of terror in France with terrorists entering a newspaper office and killing several people.  As I watched the story unfold on a 24 hour news network, fear threatened to paralyze the freedom I have always enjoyed and destroy my peaceful existence.  Is there no place of safety?  What if?  Could it happen here?  As I continued to watch, God spoke these words to my heart, “shelter in place.”  The Peace of God flowed over me and His Word filled my heart.

Psalms 91:1-2 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.  I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him will I trust.

YES, there is a place of safety; a place we can run to when the affairs of the world threaten to shackle us with fear.  Proverbs 18:10 tells us “The Name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.”  God is MY refuge, MY fortress, MY strong tower; in HIM will I trust.

If confusion is clouding your mind, if fear has a firm grip on your heart and your circumstances threaten to overwhelm you, it is time to “SHELTER IN PLACE.”  Find that “secret place” in God and REST!  Say His Name; JESUS!  It is a STRONG TOWER.  There is NO place of safety outside the “shadow of the Almighty.”  It is there that God will restore your soul.  It is in Him that the crooked path will become straight.  The storm will pass over, the “all clear” will sound, but for today, “shelter in place.”

WORRY? I'M GOING TO SLEEP!

So many times as I read the Word of God, my inadequacies become glaring obvious.  As I read of the perseverance of the “Heroes of Faith,” I find my own steadfastness sorely lacking.  Then as I begin to dig a little deeper and study a little more, I begin to understand they were all imperfect people just like me and together we serve a PERFECT GOD, who is ready to reach down, wrap His everlasting arms around us, set us on a solid rock and is always faithful.   David is such a wonderful example of an imperfect servant of our perfect God and wasn’t afraid to reveal all of his wart, bumps, bruises and scars.  He understood life wasn’t really about his failures but about God’s faithfulness.

In Psalms 3:1-2, David writes, “O Lord, how my adversaries have increased! Many are rising up against me.  ² Many are saying of my soul, “There is no deliverance for him in God.” Have you ever felt like David?  I have.  Sometimes it seems that you don’t have a friend in the world that really believes in you.  David’s adversaries didn’t even believe that God would come through for him.  Makes you just want to shrivel up and die, doesn’t it?  But David doesn’t stop there, because he had a faith in God and a history with God that could lift him above what anyone thought or was saying about him.  In verse 3, David refutes everything his enemies are bringing against him; “But You, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the One who lifts my head.”  David wasn’t king because of his strength, military prowess or even by birth, it was God who had positioned him to be king, God who “lifted his head” and all the glory belonged to God.  Rise up against him; say whatever you think, David was confident in the relationship that existed between him and God.

 You see, to David it wasn’t just KNOWLEDGE that God was faithful; it was a deeply rooted truth, he had experienced from his youth.  What did David do with this knowledge?  Verse 5 tells us, “I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the Lord sustains me.”  Don’t you just love it?  As Alfred E. Neuman puts it, “What, me Worry?”  With his knowledge and confidence in God’s faithfulness, David took his worries and fears, put them in the Lord’s capable hands and went to sleep. 

Oh to have that kind of faith and assurance that “If God is for me, who can be against me.”  Most times we pull  out all the darts Satan is throwing at us, ask God for help, try to figure out how to soothe the wounds and then wait for the perfect opportunity to throw the darts right back.  If it feels like everything is against you and there is a widespread belief that even God can’t come through for you on this one, reach way back and pull out your history.  God hasn’t changed!!! Just as He has many times before, He will come through for you.  He is your Shield, your Glory, and the Lifter of Your Head.  Step 2…Lay down; go to sleep and wake up refreshed for the Lord will sustain you.  Be confident in God’s great love and the relationship you have built with Him.  Along with David you can say, “Worry?  I’m going to sleep!”