How y’all doing in this sheltered state? Lord knows my heart and soul are lending themselves to those being impacted the most, those on the front line, those in hospital beds and nestled inside their homes doing their level best to not infect others around them. Side eye to the folks who’ve decided to ignore social distancing recommendations. Perhaps a rolled eye as well. At any rate, if you’ve done and moved in a manner by which is available to you, you’ve attempted to stock your home with all the accoutrements to make your stay as comfortable as possible. You’ve got comfortable clothing, or at best professionally dressed from the waist up, you’ve got good lighting for video conferencing, you’ve attempted to position yourself away from noise in the house (send help please as the Price is Right blasts in the background as I type), you have birthed new snack ministries (my weakness is chips) and if you skipped any other bills, you made certain to pay the one that enables internet. Bonus points if you are able to work from home and occasionally step outside to soak in a bit of vitamin D. So if it is relatively adjustable to shelter at home, why do we find it difficult to shelter in Him?

Psalm 46:1 declares, “God is our shelter and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.” He desires to be our covering, our awning, our extended dwelling. I do not suggest it to be easy, because allowing someone other than self to serve as refuge requires us to relinquish our trust in our determination or what is safety for us. However just like the aforementioned descriptions, sheltering in God can provide comfort in our being, light in darkness, blessed quietness amidst noise, space to birth something new and connection with Him. The bonus is that sheltering in Him is available at home, on our jobs, in the street, essentially wherever we find ourselves. The Master longs to serve as our shelter against anything that comes to disrupt our dwelling place in Him. In essence, we shelter in Him, so that He in turn may shelter in us.

The longer we shelter, the more we notice things that we need to clean up and clear out. The longer we shelter the more we notice tendencies about ourselves that may not be as pleasant as we believe. The longer we shelter, the more we have access to well needed rest. The longer we shelter, the more solace we enjoy spending time with our families, be it in the home or through telephone and video connections. The longer we shelter the greater our dependance upon what we have and less of what we simply lust. The longer we shelter in God the more we useful we become in kingdom assignment and sharing the good news of the coming Christ.

Now, I’d be remised if I did not also lift up that sheltering also is prime opportunity for the enemy to remind you of past mistakes, people that hurt you, unearthing anger that you “thought” was over, and temptations to consider, contrary to the Master’s expectations. In speaking with a sister in Christ recently, in response to her sharing disappointment and questioning motives of others, I said, “We just have to trust God.” That rang so strong in my spirit! Whew! No matter what is going on around us, or what lies emerge (or reemerge) from the west pit of hell toward us, or for me as a visual learner, “show us,” we must command our mind, spirit and soul to trust God! When we shelter, we do so because we trust that our action will be favorable. When it rains, we don’t open an umbrella over our head because we believe there is a 50/50 chance that we will be wet. Absolutely not! When there is a storm, and warnings are going across the bottom of the television, we heed the recommendations because we trust that doing so will be for our good. We are sheltering now amidst COVID-19 because we trust that our efforts will not harm us or others, but even beyond such, as believers, we are sheltering because it is a direct correlation and representation of our sheltering in God. He is where we we can run and be safe. It doesn’t mean that people, places and things won’t come nigh our dwelling, but regardless of whatever attempts are made, our safety is in the refuge of who He is! And since we are still celebrating the Resurrection, our safety is sealed as a result of Christ’s sacrifice at Calvary.

It is understandable to get a little cabin fever while abiding in sheltering recommendations, just as we get a little impatient waiting on God as He shelters our blessings until the environment is conducive for our will to be quieted and His will to be enacted. Nevertheless, there is no safer place to be. May we learn the added value of sheltering in Him not only during a declared pandemic, but through every situation and every encounter each moment that we live and breathe. Sheltering in him grants us access to power, strength, anointing, assurance and peace. The world gets panicky when it hears, “sheltering in place,” while as believers, nothing should excite us more than to be guarded, protected and kept from all matters through sheltering in Him. Perhaps sheltering ain’t so bad after all.