Taking Shelter: Abiding in God’s Love

Tanya Eustace
Tarrytown United Methodist Church

November 12, 2006
Children’s Sabbath

Text:Psalm 91

When I was younger- I had these really cool bunk beds- they were perpendicular to each other, so the bottom bed actually went under the top bed covering half of the mattress and creating a nice little “safe” hiding spot. I loved sleeping under there…. That is until I’d wake-up, see random shadows, hear weird noises, and wonder- is someone out there? At that point, I’d take my baby blanket, wrapped it around me, hoping that I would be safe…All of the sudden the cool shelter my bed makes didn’t seem so safe anymore, and my trusty blanket wasn’t helping either- So I would convince myself to get out of bed, I’d grab my blanket and I’d make a beeline for my sister’s room down the hall. There I (with my blanket still around me) would crawl into her bed, snuggle up really close, and would be able to breath, feeling safe in the arms of my big sister. As a young child, the protection of my bed, and my blanket wasn’t enough- I needed the protection of someone who loved me- who I knew would keep me safe……. I needed to dwell in the arms and in the shelter of someone I trusted to take care of me.

After weeks of studying and wrestling with this scripture, I’ve come to believe that this is what the psalmist is trying to say. Psalms are an amazing gift to us, they tell us what the writer is truly thinking. They reveal God’s faithful presence. In Psalm 91, the author is attempting to put God’s faithfulness into human words- describing the blessings that come when you take shelter in God and when you rest in the embrace of the almighty.

In the Hebrew language the verbs found in today’s passage: dwell and abide are active participles- they are continuous action verbs- they can also be translated as: “the sitting ones, the resting ones, the ones who continue to abide….” A couple of years ago when my dog Parker was 5 I went to parent training- otherwise known as obedience school, but I’m convinced I was there to be trained- not Parker J. We used a process known as clicker training- where I use this clicker [click] to capture Parker’s good actions. When I say sit, and he sit’s diligently I quickly click and give a treat, so he knows- he’s done something good. He quickly begins to associate the click with the treat, and my affirmation. During this training process, our trainer taught us that it is not necessary to say: sit…. Stay….. stay… I mean it! STAY!!!! But instead, that sitting and staying should be the same action. Anytime I give Parker a command, he should know to stay until I release him… in our case my release word is o.k. At this point, with my command, he becomes the sitting one… not moving, dwelling in his place. Now I’m not equating us to canine, but what I am saying is that when the psalmist talks about the one who continuously abides, one who continuously dwells,…. This is what he is talking about….. sitting in the shelter of God, not moving from that safe place.

This is actually easier said than done. We think- sure I can sit in God’s presence, no problem, that is until we’re faced with a problem and we run to the rescue trying to solve it by ourselves. Then we become the moving ones, the frustrated ones, and the tired ones. When we realize we can’t do it all by ourselves we stop and say: God where are you- I need HELP!!! Luckily for us- God is ever present, God doesn’t move. Last spring I went to see Peter Pan at Bass Concert Hall. The part of the show that always intrigues me (has since I was little) is when Peter Pan attempts to “put his shadow back on…” after rescuing it from Wendy’s dresser drawer. Does anybody remember what he tries to use at first??? You got it a bar of soap!! So Peter is seen spitting and rubbing, and then attempting to stick his shadow back on, until Wendy sighes heavily and says: here Peter let me help you… I’ll sew it back on. I’ve always wondered why Peter would want his shadow stuck to him…. I remember thinking- shadow’s aren’t stuck to you, you can’t doing anything to pin them on or take them off, they simply hover around you all of the time. Have you ever noticed how your shadow moves? Try it sometime: you can take your hand and try to beat your shadow to the front- but never fail, your shadow always arrives at the same time you do hovering right next to your body. This is how it is with God’s presence and love- we can’t do anything to stick or sew God to us- God is already there hovering over us, under us, in front of us, around us, protecting us. We can’t lose God, we can’t take God on and off or hide God in a dresser drawer- the Lord’s presence is constant. Using image evoking metaphors, the psalmist tells us that God’s protection is effective at all times and against all dangers- God will provide a safe place and a safe journey- we just have to trust and have faith in this promise.

Now, you and I both know that evil exists… we see it, hear about it, and experience it every day…. Psalm 91 is not a song of promise, saying all of the bad stuff is going to disappear for those who trust in God, it doesn’t give us a magic potion that will rid the world of evil.. it’s a psalm of trust, sending a message about hope and perseverence: those who trust will be protected, and will not be defeated. We can get through the hard times without losing our faith and our love of God and ourselves. In the Harry Potter books, Harry’s godfather gives him an invisibility cloak - when Harry and his friends put on the cloak, they become completely invisible. However, they can still be heard if they speak to loudly, and they can still be felt, if they run into something. They still have to be cautious, moving slowly. God’s promise for protection is not a magical cape that we can throw on and quickly become invisible to the negative things in life. Even when we rest in God’s love, we still hear things that hurt our feelings, we still feel things that cause us pain, yet we are able to get through knowing that whatever may happen to us in this world, the soul of man is indestructible. As Romans 8:29 so eloquently puts it: “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

The promise of Psalms 91 does not keep evil away- evil still exists, no matter how old we are:

Dear God, This is Charles. I turned twelve the other day. If you noticed, I’m typing this letter. Sometimes it’s hard for me to write, you know. It’s this thing called dysgraphia. I also have Attention Deficit Disorder. My IQ was tested at 140 but if you graded my cursive, you’d think I was dumb.

I never could hold a pencil the right way. I never could color in the lines… it’s much easier for me to explain things by talking than it is to write. If I got graded on art, I’d fail for sure. There are so many things that I can picture in my mind, but my hands just don’t draw it the way I see it…

Often times the struggles of youth and children tend to get overlooked. We think- oh they’re just kids, it’s not that big of a deal- they’ll get over it. However this unfortunately is not true- For many, this is the first time they’ve experienced this hurtful situation, they don’t know how to react, when we say “it’s going to be all right…” they don’t know how to trust that, because they don’t have the experience of knowing what it feels like to get to the other side of the pain. Knowing how to trust in God, how to sit still in the Almighty’s embrace takes practice, it comes from experience, it comes from perseverance… how do we know what or who to have faith in, how can we trust that we will get through to the other side?

John Wesley says that our faith is shaped by four different things: scripture, reason, tradition, and experience. Scripture reminds us how Jesus says in John 14:27: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you… do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.” Our knowledge of scripture also reminds us of Christ’s final promise to the disciples in Matthew 28:20: “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Scripture tells us the story of Christ’s death and resurrection and Reason helps us understand that through Christ’s death and resurrection God over came evil… evil and death is no more, we will see an end to this pain and suffering. Reason helps us weigh the facts and helps us say “this is tough, but I know, with God’s help, I can get through it.” Experience gives us this knowledge, we know that we can get through it, because we can look back on past experiences and see how God pulled us through. Finally, tradition shows us how God’s led people through times of trial, distress, pain, and tribulation. The kicker is that all four of these points of the quadrilateral require that we were given this scripture, reason, experience, and tradition, at sometime in our lives. It was modeled for us, passed down to us, and experienced by us on our faith journey. Now it’s our turn to model it for someone else- not only for our sanity, but for the safety and protection of our children, friends, and family.

One of my favorite morning meditations is a celtic chant entitled I arise today: I invite you to listen to the words in whatever position makes you comfortable-

I arise today, Through the strength of heaven. Light of sun, radiance of moon, splendor of fire, speed of lightening, swiftness of wind, depth of the sea, stability of earth, firmness of rock- I arise today. Through God’s strength to quiet me. God’s eye to look before, God’s wisdom to guide me, God’s way to lie before me, God’s shield to protect me, From all who shall wish me ill, from far and near, alone and in a multitude, Against every cruel merciless power that may oppose my body and soul: Christ is with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I die, Christ to shield me, Christ the heart of everyone who thinks of me, Christ the mouth of everyone who speaks of me. I arise today………

Each morning we arise in the shelter of God’s love and in the shadow of God’s unending protection and security. We start the day in God’s presence, and we experience peace as we put our trust in God and lean on our hope in God’s promises that no matter what happens we will not be defeated. The challenge comes when we are tempted to move out from this shelter of protection and to face the world on our own. It takes continual trust and faith to persevere in the midst of crisis. It takes prayer and focus to keep our sights on God, when the world is pulling us in the opposite direction

[Charlie’s letter cont.]

It’s o.k. I’m not complaining. I’m really doing fine. You see, you gave me a wonderful mind and a great sense of humor. I’m great at figuring things out, and I love to debate.

I want to be a lawyer when I grow up, a trial lawyer in fact. I know I’d be good at that. You have told me that you made me special when you said that I am fearfully and wonderfully made. You have assured me that you will see me through, and that you have plans for me to give me a future and hope.

My parents want to help me, so they bought me a laptop to take to school. My teacher is the best this year! I am allowed to do a lot of my work on the computer.

Lord this is a thank-you letter, just to let you know I’m doing fine. Life’s hard sometimes, but you know what? I accept the challenge. I have the faith to see myself through anything. Thanks for making me me. Thanks for loving me unconditionally. Thanks for everything. In your service, Charles.

Charles knowledge of God’s love for him came from someone who either told him how much God loves him, or maybe they showed him. However he learned, this 12 yr old boy’s knowledge helps him have faith and to trust that no matter what, God is on his side.

Reside in God’s love, trust in the Almighty, experience peace, and by living your life in this manner, you will effect and teach others, so that they too will know the: embrace, peace, love, comfort, faithfulness, protection, that only a relationship with God can give.