Daily life with Jesus by Grahame Howard: It's time to get serious with God

Monday 16 March 2020

It's time to get serious with God

"He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, 'He is my refuge and my fortress, My God in Him I will trust." Psalm 91:1-2. NKJV

In Hebrew, we see the LORD as Yahweh - Elyon which means the Most High. Then we have El Shaddai - Almighty God. Then of course Elohim - the Sublime God but in this Psalm we see Shadday - Almighty power which refers to the all sufficiant God, eternally capable of being all that His people need.

Shadday gives us protection, comfort and care, so that we are able to abide under the shadow of the Almighty. But in order to do this, we need to be close to Him - to have intimacy with Him.

This Psalm tells us that we need to 'dwell,' with Him - in the secret place. Dwell means to live, remain, abide and reside with. As we do this with God, we get to know Him better, we have a deeper relationship and this leads us to intimacy as we make Him the most important part of our life. When we reach this stage, we are dwelling in the secret place and this is where He will take care of us.

Psalm 27:5 says: 'For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion, in the secret place of His tabernacle. He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock.' Again in Psalm 31:20: 'You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence.' God is our refuge and fortress.

In the light of what is happening in the world today with the Coronavirus, this knowledge is most encouraging:

"Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge, even the Most High your dwelling place. No evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling." Psalm 91:9-10. NKJV

As believers who are dwelling in the secret place with Shadday, we will be protected. God will take care of us. There is no need to panic. The Coronavirus is a plague but God's Word tells us that no plague shall come near our dwelling. But for the unbelievers, they need to be told and there has never been a more ideal time than now. Tell your friends, neighbours and of course your family. They need Jesus right now for their safety and protection. There's no panic if you put God in charge!

Seek that intimacy with Your Father. Jeremiah 29:13 says, 'And you will seek me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart." This is when you get serious. To abide under the shadow of someone, we must walk very close to them. Do you get the picture? As we walk and live intimately with God, we will know the greatness of His protection. God will become a mighty refuge and fortress to each believer.

Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard