Day 196: God as Shelter

 

DAY 196

Faith in the Midst of a Pandemic

A series of daily reflections for people of faith

by Rev. Robert Bayley, Interim Pastor

Patuxent Presbyterian Church, California, Maryland

pastorrobert@paxpres.org

Week Twenty-eight    Saturday 26 September 2020

God as Shelter

“If you’re like me, the phrase ‘unprecedented times’ has been ringing in your ears and weighing on your heart over the past few months. Whether written in one of the countless ‘our company’s response to COVID-19’ emails from presidents and CEO’s across the country or heard in newscasts or updates from local and national government officials, or in social media posts and conversations with friends expressing the felt pain of racism, these words remind us that we are in a challenging moment in time. In these unprecedented times, however, I am encouraged by the truth that God is our anchor and shelter during storms.”  A current communication from the president of a Christian university.

We entered the “ten Boom House” in Haarlem, Holland through the watch shop on the first floor, up the stairs to the next level of living space and up again to a back bedroom where behind a wall was a place of safety some 6-8 feet long and barely three feet wide. It was here that Jews were hidden by the ten Boom family from the Nazis. While they were imprisoned and all of her family but Corrie died in prison camps, the Jews they hid in their hiding place survived. The wall has since been opened up, and visitors may stand in that cramped space, “the hiding place.” I have stood in that space, a moving and memorable experience. Years later Corrie would write a book by that name and the Billy Graham Association would make a full-length movie about her story, also called “The Hiding Place,” a film every Christian should see.

The writer above reminds us that “…the truth (is) that God is our anchor and shelter during storms,” Biblical imagery, ancient yet timely, reminding us that the God who made us intends to make sure we are safe. Massive unemployment, a global pandemic, social and political unrest and global warming can render us feeling helpless and exposed. We need a place to shelter, and that ‘place’ is the Triune God.  God as our shelter does not mean we are removed from the storms of life, but rather that our deepest person is kept safe in their midst. It remains true: “nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord,” Romans 8:39.

Reflective question: How does the Triune God function for you as a hiding place, a safe place during this time of a pandemic and all else that is going on?  

Reflective Scripture: Psalm 32:7; 56:3 – “You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble…” “When I am afraid, I will trust in you.”

Reflective hymn:

“You Are My Hiding Place” – Michael Ledner (1952-    )

You are my hiding place,

you always fill my heart with songs of deliverance,

Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in you.