Traveling is my favorite thing to do. I have been on 3 mission trips in my life and deeply enjoyed being on those trips. I have noticed though that once I return from these trips it feels great because I am returning to my comfort zone. I have been to houses who have little signs saying "Home Sweet Home". I am also familiar with the book the wizard of Oz where Dorothy says "There's no place like Home". Traveling is a fun thing to do, but there is always a great sense of comfort when we return and are able to relax in the comfort of home.
Psalm 91:1 says, "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." (NKJV)
As we know Psalm 91 has many promises from God to us for His divine protection. When I was a child my parents would always claim these protection verses for me to keep me safe. I have noticed that many times in churches we claim Psalm 91 for some of the church members who join the military and are about to walk into a potentially dangerous and uncertain situation.
While I thank God that my parents claimed these scriptures for me, while I was studying this scripture I started to notice something. Psalm 91 is not for everybody. You must meet the conditions placed in Psalm 91:1 to receive the promises spoken for the rest of the chapter.
I want to focus on 2 words in Psalm 91:1:
The 1st word I wish to focus on is the word dwell.
According to Websters dictionary the definition of dwell is: 1. To remain, to abide, to live as a resident, to reside, to keep the attention directed, an inhabitant.
When I am out traveling I am only at that particular location for a short amount of time. I do not dwell there, I do not abide there. I am just a visitor at that location.
In order to receive the promises that are listed in Psalm 91 we must live in the secret place of the Most High. Notice it says "secret place". A secret place is a place that is not known to the general public. The secret place that is being spoken of is the presence of God Himself through the Word of God. The bible is the secret place.
Now you might tell me, the bible isn't a secret, most everyone has at least one and some people have many bibles. While this is true, how many people are actually laying down their busy schedule to actually get into reading the bible on a regular basis? Too many people are taking other peoples word for what is in the bible instead of reading it for themselves. These regard the word of a minister higher than the Word of God.
It is clear that the Word of God is not to be a vacationing spot, it is to be our dwelling, our "Home Sweet Home". There is truly no place like our home. This is not a place we go to as our last resort or when all else fails. Regardless of whatever circumstances are around you (whether good or bad), the bible is the one place that must stay consistent in our lives.
The second word I want to look at in Psalm 91:1 is the word shadow.
All of us know what a shadow is, so I will not take the time to define it, but when I was a child my friends and I would play some weird and interesting games. One of the things we would do as a child would be to try to get underneath another person's shadow. This was a difficult task because in order to accomplish this you must be very very close to the person who is creating the shadow.
God wants us to be so close to Him that we are "in His shadow".
When we press in to God we find ourselves getting closer and closer to God, and as we get closer to God He is able to speak to us in a whisper to where only we can hear what He is saying. This is again why we must live in the secret place, so we can hear the secrets that God wants us to hear.
I have learned two things about trying to get under someone's shadow:
1. The smaller you are the easier it is to get under the shadow. How can you shrink so you can fit under the shadow? Matthew 18:1-4 gives us that answer.
Matthew 18:1-4 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever HUMBLES himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." (NKJV)
When we humble ourselves we then shrink and God gets bigger to us. This allows us to be able to get underneath the shadow much easier.
2. The bigger you are the harder it is to get under someone's shadow. How can you avoid getting too big? 1st Timothy 3:6 provides the answer for us.
1st Timothy 3:6b ...being PUFFED UP with PRIDE he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. (NKJV)
Pride puffs you up to the point that it is very difficult to get under any kind of shadow. Pride has the ability to keep us far from God and too big to get under God's shadow. We must eliminate pride from our lives and institute humility and we will be able to get inside the shadow. Stay in the Word of God... It is where you belong, it is HOME!
