Sheltered and Safe

Psalm 91:1-2 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.  I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."

When we were growing up, my siblings and I would have regularly called meetings. We discussed issues of great childhood importance such as whether we should revolt and go live with our grandmother and who would have to clean the toilets during chore hour on Saturday morning. We were not heads of state. Our meetings did not alter national policy but they developed a bond between the four of us that can not be broken. These gatherings didn't take place around a board table or at a five-star restaurant but in the simplicity of a bedroom closet.

I treasure the memory of those meetings. When my phone rings and the music of one of their voices is the greeting on the other end, I still want to run for the shelter of my closet. Because today my siblings and I talk about things that actually are life changing. What will we do if our parents can't provide for themselves financially or physically in years to come? How will we hold our family together when the thread of our parents has passed from it?

Today I am reading Matthew 26.  This chapter describes the betrayal and arrest of Jesus.  Just hours before He had eleven loyal men at His side.  Now He had no one.  I feel for the disciples.  Everything they thought they knew changed.  Their world was shattered and they scattered.

We don't know where anyone except Peter went that night.  I imagine they sought a place where they felt safe.  When I was a child I ran to shelter in the closet.  I still want to run there at times.

Even though every friend abandoned Him, Jesus walked resolutely to the cross where He would never abandon them.  When I am afraid, I don't have to run to my closet.  I can run to Jesus. 

Jesus, You overcame Your grief in Gethsemane, to provide me with Your comfort.  You are my Hiding Place.  You are my Shelter.  I am sheltered and safe.