Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
Psalm 91:1 NIV
I'm sitting on my balcony, letting the sun shine on my face, and I'm thankful that September has finally brought us a few wonderful summer days after all. And what do I do? I think about rain and umbrellas.
We had a special service in my church in August. Several children began a new phase of life full of new experiences and duties. A new stage that brings joy, but also challenges. Some of the children began in kindergarten and others started school. And yet others moved from primary school to high school. All the children who started the new school year were especially entrusted to God's protection and guidance.
They sang a beautiful song based on Psalm 91 expressing how we are under the protecting shelter (or as in my language, umbrella) of the Most High day and night. This summarizes several verses of the psalm. However, I discovered a significant difference between the children's song and the psalm when I read it carefully. The Psalm says: "Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High.” So it's not that you just happen to be under the sheltering umbrella. No. I am allowed to dwell there, to make God’s shelter my home. I can choose to remain under God’s umbrella permanently. We use an umbrella when there is bad weather. Fires, floods, diseases, COVID, etc. – and this bad weather really exists. Every now and then, we spy isolated rays of sunshine and enjoy the sun for several hours or days - yes, sometimes we are fine and experience isolated moments of happiness and joy. But even the most beautiful moments in life are short-lived. They are disturbed by strained relationships, stress at work, illness, stressful feelings, past experiences, fears about the future, and so on. We need God’s umbrella. David recognized this when he invited us to open God’s umbrella and to take shelter under it.
I don't know what storms you are experiencing right now, but I wish that you will experience the promise of the second part of the verse: “will rest in the shadow of the Almighty”