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Shelter

                 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. (Psalm  91:1)

What does it mean to dwell in the shelter of the Most High, or to rest in the shadow of the Almighty? Dallas Willard described the Kingdom as the range of God’s effective will. If that describes the whole kingdom, how much better does it describe the shelter or the shadow? To be in a shadow, one needs to be close enough to whatever is casting the shadow for it to be between you and the source of light.

What this means is that our being in the shelter and the shadow might allow us to pose and posture at our enemies who circle because we’re confident that God can and will stomp on anyone who gets too close, but it also puts us well within range of God’s correcting and restraining hand if we misbehave. It requires that we function within His will because not doing so moves us out of the shelter and shadow. Of course, that doesn’t mean we can’t be like the elephant calves, who make a show of charging a vehicle, then turn and run back to their mothers. We just need to recognize our position and our need.

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