NearnessSample

There is an incredibly interesting television show called ‘Alone’. The premise is simple: people are dropped into the wilderness and their task is to survive as long as possible with absolutely no human contact. This show has taught me two things: I don’t ever want to be in the wilderness alone. I would absolutely hate it. But, if I was, the key to my survival is shelter. If I’m going to last, I need good shelter.

The same could be said for life as we all know it. As we face the significant challenges life throws at us—physical, emotional, and spiritual—what we need is a place of refuge. A place of safety. The opening verses of Psalm 27 are words of trust that describe how God can be our shelter when we are besieged by life. Though the psalmist is acutely aware of trouble and threats, they are choosing to trust ongoingly in God, because God is their shelter, their rock, and their hiding place. The word ‘shelter’ here refers to the shelters which protected God’s people when they wandered in the wilderness. The image we get is to be covered by God’s protective grace in a time of need.

In World War II, Corrie Ten Boom was a Dutch watchmaker who hid Jewish refugees. Her family was betrayed and arrested. Corrie and her sister were sent to a concentration camp, where they faced unimaginable horrors. Corrie miraculously survived, and her autobiographical work is called ‘The Hiding Place’. For her, the words of Psalm 27 ring true. In the depths of the darkness, in the fear, suffering, grief and uncertainty, Corrie tells of how God truly provided her with a place of steadfast refuge.

Today, ponder this: In trouble and fear, have you known God to be a place of shelter? Have you seen His provision, His grace, His protection? What would it look like to live in confidence that God is your stronghold and your place of safety?