Dwell – February 2024

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

Psalm 91:1

I don’t know about you but I love my house. Its walls are sturdy when the winds blow, the foundation had at one time given us a wet basement but has been shored up and is now strong and dry when the rains crash down.  The roof provides respite from the blazing sun and warmth during times of ice and snow. Our house is our physical shelter. We dwell and abide in this house that has been provided to us by our church. Yes, we live in the parsonage. And we are blessed to do so. Since I consider my house to be a great shelter imagine how much better the shelter is under the Most High.

Let’s break this verse down just a bit.

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High…”

The Most High is a title for God that depicts His incomparable great power and if we are in the shelter of that then no harm can come to us. When we dwell, abide and remain in the shelter of the Most High we are in the safest place there could ever be. God is our protection. He is our sturdy foundation, our strong walls and unshakable cover over our lives. He is our sure defense. Dwelling in His shelter is the only place I want to be.

“…will abide in the shadow of the Almighty”

Shadows are not commonly thought of as a great place to be nor do they conjure up images of safety. If someone is lurking in the shadows or afraid to come out of the shadow it is not considered a good thing. However, the author of the Psalm is using shadow in the best way in this verse. Think of it more like the shadow of a mother hens wing. Or, imagine you’re facing a threat and looking toward certain doom but the shadow of your protector comes close enough to land on and cover you. That is the image of the shadow of the Almighty in this verse. Our protector is here. He is close enough to cast His shadow on us. And we abide in this shadow. We dwell in this shadow. There is a consistent closeness to this shadow.

We are so dearly loved that the Most High God has given us His protection and His shelter from the threats of this world. We are abiding in the shadow of his protection and He is our refuge. This does not mean that bad things won’t ever happen to us. It does mean that we don’t have to worry about our eternal lives -the life that matters most- because we know we are going to dwell with Him forever. Our earthly bodies will be hurt, inflicted with pain, disease and suffering from time to time but we will dwell with the Most High and be sheltered by the Almighty God for eternity. There is nothing better.

Let us live with the assurance of our faith and dwell in the shelter of the Most High now and forever.

Find the sticker for this month in my Etsy Shop. To learn more about why I chose the word DWELL for 2024 (and get a free coloring page!) visit this post. To read last month’s meditation, click here.

Do you have a word you are focusing on right now? How do you find yourself being reminded to dwell with the Lord? I would love to hear from you in the comments!