Shelter
"I cry to You, Lord; I say, 'You are my shelter, my portion in the land of the living.'" (Psalm 142:5 CSB)
One line from the beautiful old hymn "O God, Our Help in Ages Past" kept running through my mind while I was thinking about this name of God: "Our Shelter from the stormy blast, and our eternal Home."
Our Shelter "from." Praise God He often does shelter us from storms...many we don't even know about.
But I also believe God shelters us IN storms. Which puts us in good company.
El Shaddai—God Almighty—did not choose to spare Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego from the fiery furnace...but He did shelter them in it.
The Sovereign God did not choose to spare Daniel from the lion's den...but He did shelter him in it.
El Elyon—God Most High—did not choose to spare Paul and Silas from being sent to prison...but He did shelter them in it.
When the storms of temporary life in an imperfect world rage around us and within us, we can run to the Shelter of the Most High—and there find our belief in who He is and what He can do built up in a way it would not be if we were sheltered from the storm entirely.
And the next time God chooses to shelter us "in" something and not "from" it? We can weather those winds and rains with a storm-strengthened version of our faith.
"Under the shadow of Thy throne still may we dwell secure;
sufficient is Thine arm alone, and our defense is sure."
("O God, Our Help in Ages Past; words by Isacc Watts, music by William Croft; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvEx86oP5Wg, beginning at the 44-second mark.)
I read your article about 10 worship songs you'd be fine never singing again. I agree with you, but I want to add that I like virtually no worship songs at all. I miss singing hymns. To me, worship songs are heavy on feelings and light on meaning. Singing the same lines over and over (and over and over) is more about stirring up emotion than actual worship. I get emotional singing hymns because: a) the music itself is beautiful, b) the words are written in a way that's thoughtful, meaningful and revealing of God's attributes. Worship choruses seem to be more about what I think, feel or will do rather than about God and what He has done. Just my thoughts. You may take them or leave them.
ReplyDeleteKarl, thank you for much for sharing your careful, considerate thoughts here! (And my deepest apologies for the inexcusable delay in replying.) I feel so much of what you have expressed. At our small church, we try very hard to choose songs (whether "hymns" or "worship songs," that first and foremost convey Scriptural truth in singable ways. This--"worship choruses seem to be more about what I think, feel or will do rather than about God and what He has done"--is a very valid point. God certainly cares about all this, but our first call as worshippers is upward...ahead of inward. Thank you so much for expressing this, and I pray you are able to find opportunities to worship in meaningful ways here on earth until we are all singing "hallelujah!" around the throne of the I AM.
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