Sheltering in God's Presence

“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” (Ps 91:1 AV)

Psalm ninety-one was written by Moses upon reflection of the first Passover.  The Psalm makes several references to the noisome pestilence and Israel’s protection from it.  We must be careful here not to take as a promise something that belonged to another.  For Israel, as long as the blood was upon the lintel and side posts, the death angel would spare the firstborn.  This Psalm shares this experience several times.  We are not Israel.  This is not the first Passover.  We do not have blood on our doorposts or lintel.  Therefore, we cannot take this passage as a promise we will be safe from pestilence.  What we can do, though, is read of that night and the faith which Israel had.  We can see how they quarantined within their homes, worshiped God, and sang the Psalms.  We can witness that dwelling in the secret place of the most High gave them security and mutual comfort.

I lived in tornado ally for almost a decade.  Having never lived there before, it was quite an experience.  My NOAA radio was my best friend.  This radio was amazing.  It told you exactly where a funnel cloud was spotted, the direction it was headed, and the speed in which it was traveling.  You knew if you were in the path of danger or if you were safe.  Several times we opened the doors of our church for our neighbors.  There was a trailer park right behind the church.  And, as we know, tornadoes seem to love trailer parks.  It was not out of the ordinary to have several people whom you never met come into the church building and hunker down with you in the basement.  I remember one such incident.  It was pouring so hard, fifty feet was as far as the eye could see.  Up drives a car and stops under our carport.  NOAA said it was headed our way.  So, I invited the lady and her daughter into the building and down to the basement.  Where she joined me and a few family members.  Now, just because we were huddled and praying didn’t mean the LORD would decide to steer that tornado clear.  We still might have been hit.  It was all up to the LORD.  What was important was the mutual support we all had for one another at a time of hypothetical crisis.

The difference between my NOAA radio and what we are hearing regarding our current trouble is that NOAA is only facts whereas what we are hearing is mostly speculation.  Our leadership wants us to overreact and take extreme measures that this virus may be short-lived.  There may be some wisdom in that.  But the damage caused by overreaction may be worse than the virus itself.  Only time will tell.  And besides, this is not the point of our verse.  We need to shut off the voices of extreme alarmism and be encouraged by the presence of our closest family and friends.  Even though we are shut-in, that does not preclude us from worshiping and fellowshiping.  So, sing some hymns.  Open the windows and let the neighbors hear of your joy!  Participate in online services.  Don’t let the anxiety of the world rob you of the peace Jesus promised His saints.  Use this as a time to draw closer to one another and not further apart.  Pray as a family.  Worship as a family.  Grow as a family.  And let the world see the faith in which you profess.