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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