Staying in the shadow...

During these hot weeks of the Spanish summer, everyone seems to be seeking out a shady place where they can get some protection from the heat of the sun - like in this picture of my Mum and my niece walking through Alhaurín de la Torre one day last week.

I had to think of this when I was reading this morning in Psalm 91. The first verse says, "Those who stay in the shelter of the Most High God will rest in the shadow of the Almighty." My Spanish Bible says, la protección del Altísimo (the protection of the Most High) and la sombra del Todopoderoso (the shade or shadow of the All-Powerful One.)

You see, if you want to have protection from the sun, you can't move too far away from the tree or building that is offering shade and shadow. It's the same in our relationship with God: if we want to know His care and protection, we need to stay close to Him in all areas of our daily lives. The word that's usually translated as "stay" or "dwell" in this verse is the Hebrew yashab, meaning to sit down, to remain, to live, to stay there all the time. God loves us deeply, but we can only experience the fullness of His care and protection if we make a choice to stay close enough to be "under His shadow." Fortunately for us, God is huge, and so His shade extends very far. It's not easy to move beyond the scope of His care for us.

On Sunday at church, the speaker was preaching about various people in the Bible of whom it is written, "The Lord was with him" - people like Joseph, Gideon, Moses, David and so on. You might imagine that having God with you would guarantee you a life that is always easy and pleasant. But this isn't what we see in the Bible; some of these people faced real challenges and difficult life situations.

Today, in Psalm 91, I noticed again that God promises to be with those who love Him, but He says (vs 15): "I will be with them when they are in trouble." I've experienced this in my own life; there may be troubles and difficulties at times, but God will always be with you if you stay close enough to be under His shadow.