Shelter
Shelter is a basic human necessity. It is at the very bottom of Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs. Even animals and insects create habitats for themselves where they can be shielded from the elements and have warmth and protection. It is this essential part of our lives that God calls us again and again throughout scripture to find in him (Psalm 27:5, Psalm 91:1, Isaiah 25:4, 2 Samuel 22:3, to name a few), yet we continually run to the very things that would enslave us. As we seek to destroy the idols that steal our attention and affections from God, it would be fitting to discover where we are prone to wander in seeking this most fundamental need. Where do our hearts run for cover when we need protection, rest, and comfort?
“’Ah, stubborn children,’ declares the Lord, ‘who carry out a plan, but not mine, and who make an alliance, but not of my Spirit, that they may add sin to sin; who set out to go down to Egypt, without asking for my direction, to take refuge in the protection of Pharaoh and to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt!’” Isaiah 30:1-2
Shelter provides protection. It’s where we run to when there is a raging storm, our escape from bitter cold or scorching heat. Here we are safe from intruders and enemies who would seek to harm us. In Isaiah 30, we see the Nation of Judah frantically trying to find protection from a coming invasion. Although God himself had told them to trust him, they did not. Instead they made their own plans and sought to find this protection from Egypt. They leaned on their own understanding and sought their own protection from people who had once enslaved them. They trusted in their enemies rather than their God. Where do we turn to for protection? Our finances, our government, insurance, bigger cars, better weapons? “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength” (Isaiah 30:15). How many sleepless nights have I spent with my mind reeling, trying to conjure up my own protection, restless and fearful, struggling to navigate the present storm on my own? Taking on the chains of fear, control and self-reliance, exhausted and striving when the Lord promises “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.” (Isaiah 26:3-4). God provides the protection we need from our fiercest enemies and relentless storms, as birds hover over their young, spreading out their wings to protect the defenseless, yet as fierce and unmoved as a lion (Isaiah 31:4-5). The shelter of his wings is the safest place to dwell.
Shelter also provides us with rest. Oh how fleeting can rest seem in our busy lives! While we labor to provide for our own forms of shelter we are constantly striving, and then we try to find rest in Netflix, alcohol, food, sex, social media, or whatever promises us an escape from our busy lives. Again, we forsake the promises of God for things of this world that would enslave us. We trade the life-giving refreshment and peace that come from time with God for the life-taking idols that offer us false assurances and temporary satisfaction. “And the effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever. My people will abide in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places” (Isaiah 31:7-18). The rest our souls long for is only found in Jesus, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:28-29). I can’t tell you how often I try to entice people to Bible studies only to hear the excuse of exhaustion and busyness. Rest and restoration are offered to us freely in Christ! It is in the shelter of the cross that we find perfect peace and relief. “And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself anymore, but your eyes shall see you Teacher. And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left. Then you will defile your carved idols overlaid with silver and your gold-plaited metal images. You will scatter them as unclean things. You will say to them, ‘Be gone!’” (Isaiah 30:20-21). It’s time to tear down the false shelters we are seeking rest in, to listen to the voice of Jesus, our Teacher, as he frees us from their deceitful claims.
Shelter provides comfort. Comfort brings reassurance to our heartache, forgiveness of our shortcomings. Comfort offers hope in unknown circumstances. What shelter do we run to for comfort? Is it money? Material possessions? Do we seek to please everyone so as to avoid conflict, seeking comfort in the praise of man? In Facebook likes? Do we seek to justify ourselves by good works and appease our conscience through self-righteousness, rather than confessing our sins to God and accepting his discipline? All of these shelters will prove to be unstable and will never provide true comfort, ‘Behold, they are all a delusion; their works are nothing; their metal images are empty wind” (Isaiah 41:29). In all of our uncertainties, our insecurities, our regrets and failures, the Lord has proven himself time and time again to be our incomparable Comforter. When we seek shelter from loneliness or abandonment, we run to the comfort of our adopted father, “for you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’ The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,” (Romans 8:15-16). When we fear judgement and want to hide our true selves, we run to the comfort of the God who knows all that is in our hearts and minds (Psalm 139). As we run to the shelter of God, we find promise upon promise throughout scripture that provide unending comfort for every situation we may face. “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God” (Isaiah 40:1). Forgiveness of sins, adoption as sons and daughters, peace to surpass all understanding, acceptance and justification through Jesus’ death and resurrection; there is no greater comfort for our souls than the Gospel.
All of these false shelters draw us in with lies. False promises of protection, rest, and comfort that only the Lord can truly provide. Endless gadgets promise us protection from intruders, trackers promise to keep our children safe under our constant watch. The government promises us protection from our enemies. Entertainment promises us rest at the end of a long day. Wine promises us calm and relaxation when our anxiety overwhelms us. Gossip promises us comfort in our own shortcomings as we malign others. Ice cream promises to comfort us in our sadness. In the end we remain fearful, drained, and distressed. In Christ, God has promised us a sure foundation that will put to shame all of these idols. “Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: ‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.’ And I will make justice the line, and righteousness the plumb line; and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies and waters will overwhelm the shelter” (Isaiah 28:16-17). Jesus will sweep away the lies we seek refuge in, the counterfeit shelters that blind us from the true shelter of the Almighty.
May we seek to be completely sheltered in Christ, in every aspect of our lives, and with St. Patrick pray:
Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
