Shelter
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:25-26.
Resurrection Day is our continued guarantee from our Lord and Savior that good will triumph over evil. Light will overcome darkness, and when it is all said and done the Lord has promised in John 14:3 that “I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”
When I step back, and get out of my own way, I remind myself for the hundredth time that God is in control and our lives, and our lives are not our own. He is a Savior who determines if we see the sun rise and set for another day. He gives us strength when we are weak and comforts us in our times of need. In Psalm 91: 9-11, He says that “if you make the Lord your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter, no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your dwelling. For He orders His angels to protect you wherever you go.”
What I have started doing is counting my blessings, let me correct that, what I have started praying to do is look at the abundance of blessing the Lord has afforded me. We can get caught up in “life” doing this, doing that, running here, and running there that we forget the one who allows it all.
I remember being in the house stressing over issues. When I caught myself, and you must catch yourself because Satan catches on fast, he is already ahead of you to contribute to the attack. He too knows what the acronym of HALT stands for. When you are going through a stressful time, if you are too Hungry, too Angry, too Lonely, or Too Tired then you do not have on the full armor of God and the daggers are headed your way.
The reality is none of us are equipped to fight those attacks. It is why the Lord says the battle is His. This emphasizes the importance of surrendering struggles to the Lord and allowing Him to deal with them in His time and in His way. This is part of dwelling in the shelter of the Most-High while He fights the spiritual warfare. The Lord let us know in Ephesians 6:12 that, “We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”
We do not know half of what the Lord is fighting in our behalf. This is a warfare that involves spiritual strategies fought with supernatural weapons against an unseen enemy. Can you manage that on your own?
Jesus wants us dressed in the Full Armor of His Shelter: the
Belt of Truth
Breastplate of Righteousness
Sandals with the Gospel of Peace
Shield of Faith
Helmet of Salvation
Sword of the Spirit
Prayer.
Because the reality of our lives is this, our Lord and Savior saves each one of us every second in every hour of each day, it is scary to not have anyone but yourself (made from dust) to count on. I am glad that the battle is not mine, but the Lords.
Prayer: Heavenly father, thank you for having a plan for our lives. Thank you for being in control of everything and everyone. I pray that every eye that sees this draws closer to you and dwells in your shelter and protective wings, In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
GL