DEVOTION//At rest in God’s shadow

Psalm 91:1-2, Whoever 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.”

I envied my grade school friend Mike. He was the youngest of four children. He had two older sisters and an older brother. His brother was the oldest in the family and at least eight years older than Mike.

What I envied was that Mike’s brother was always there to look out for him. I didn’t have that; I was the oldest brother in my family. But for Mike, of other kids picked on him, his brother was there to protect him. I have a mental picture of Mike standing in the shadow of his brother who made sure nobody laid a hand on Mike.

The same picture is in Psalm 91:1-2. “We rest in the shadow of the Almighty.” Nothing can harm us because the one who is Most High and the one who has all power is looking out for us.

Even better, he is the LORD; that’s the Hebrew word, Yahweh. Every time God wants to emphasize that he is the God of full, free, forever, and faithful grace, he uses that name. It is the LORD who kept his promise to send his Son to forgive all our sins. His love guarantees his power protects us.

That is why we, too, confess, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”