Daily Journal: 12 April

Finding Safety

in God’s Shadow

Life can feel unsafe for many people. More and more we see the world falling into a state of chaos that is rootless and void of the conscience God gave every person. Many people have lived through experiences that have contributed to an over-riding fear of abandonment; half-expecting something bad to happen all the time, because it so often has.

Fear is an emotion that in certain situations can keep us safe because we are alert to danger. It can also be a spirit that dominates our emotions and feelings of security or stability, influencing our thought processes and choices.

Living with trepidation, or the fear of something bad happening, isn’t how God wants us to live. Fear is not from God.

The fear of God, on the other hand, is not fear in this sense. It is a deep reverent awe recognising His power and nature of righteousness, that is intrinsically good and holy. In this holy, reverent fear, our awe becomes worship.

God does not want us to be bound by an emotion or spirit of fear that works against being able to trust in Him. He has given us profound assurances in the bible that show us how we can rest in His sovereign safe-keeping.

We are wise to have a fear of the Lord, finding safety in God's shadow.

Psalm 91:1 (NLT)

Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

No other power can dispossess God's power. He is the Most High. His shadow carries protection and defence.

Knowing I can live in the shelter, and rest in the defence of the One that no one and nothing else can overpower, allows me to let my fear expire.

Psalm 27:5 (NIV)

For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock.

He hides me in His holy place, sheltering me, hiding my family from wrong, from those who seek wrong. We are kept safe IN His dwelling place, out of the reach of evil, because I place my fears, my hope, my trust in His deliverance each day.

Psalm 32:7 (ESV)

You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah

To fully receive, acknowledge, trust and live in this level of divine care involves laying down my fear, stopping myself from fighting what God wants, looking for safety in Him and proclaiming it over my household with assurance, and finding intimacy in His Presence.

Intimacy with God is a weapon against the enemy because it’s where I am sheltered.

1 John 4:16 (NLV)

We have come to know and believe the love God has for us. God is love. If you live in love, you live by the help of God and God lives in you.

I pray that we will know the safe place of God. I pray that we will always hide ourselves in His shadow because we are intimate with His heart for us. I pray that we will know we do not have to feel exposed to the enemy’s threats or dominating tactics but we will be able to sit with confidence in God’s defence, and rest there.