Mensa Otabil - The Lord is Our Shelter
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This week, we’re looking at God and who He is to us and how He presents Himself to us. In Psalm 61, verse 3, we read these words: «For you have been a shelter for me, a strong tower from the enemy. I will abide in your tabernacle forever; I will trust in the shelter of your wings.»
Selah. Every human being needs shelter, a place to hide and a place to feel safe. We have all experienced that feeling when you’re walking through town, and it’s pouring rain, with thunder and lightning, and you’re trying to find a place to hide. You look for a ledge or some covering to take shelter under, and all of a sudden, although it’s pouring rain all around you, you are protected under that shelter. The Lord is our shelter; He is a hiding place, and when there’s trouble all around, there is a place where we can find safety and refuge. Yes, we can find it in the natural places of our homes, cars, and offices, but the real shelter is the one the Lord provides for us. The Lord is our shelter.
Not all shelters are the same. Many times, when you try to hide in a storm, all of a sudden, the wind blows your shelter away, and you feel exposed all over again. But the Lord is not that kind of shelter. When we take refuge in Him and find safety in Him, nothing can blow our cover; nothing can disturb our hiding place. The psalmist says the Lord is our shelter, and he uses three ideas to describe the shelter of the Lord. The first is that the Lord is a strong tower. In those days, the strong tower was a place of safety in battle; it was also called the stronghold. It’s the place you go to hide when the enemy is coming, and maybe the city walls are down, but the stronghold is the place where you feel safe. The Lord is our shelter; He is our stronghold.
Not only is He our stronghold, but the psalmist says, «I will abide in your tabernacle forever.» The Lord’s shelter is also His tabernacle, the place of His presence. His presence is our protection; His presence keeps us safe. If you want to truly feel safe in the stormy weather that the world is experiencing, you must be under the shadow of the Almighty. You must be in His tabernacle; you must be in His presence. The third thing the psalmist says about our shelter is His wings. He says, «I will trust in the shelter of your wings.»
The image there is of a mother hen that covers its chicks under her wings. The Lord is our shelter; He is our strong tower; He’s our tabernacle; and He’s the wing under which we find refuge. I trust God that you would find Him as your shelter throughout all the stormy weather of our time. May the Lord be your shelter, protect you, and keep you safe. I am Pastor Mensa Otabil. Shalom, peace and life to you.