Three-year old Elena (our granddaughter) had much to report about preschool last Thursday:
“Firemen came and they brought their fire truck! We got to hold the hose!”
Later Elena recited what to do if a fire occurred: 1) Don’t open a hot door, 2) To get out, crawl along the floor under the smoke, 3) Stop, drop, and roll if clothes catch fire, and 4)…
“…CALL 9-1-1!” she announced loudly and firmly.
Isn’t it a comfort to know that with three quick taps on our phones we have access to emergency help almost anywhere at any time? The process to develop such a system, however, was not quick. It took forty-some years to fully install the Emergency Call Answering System, from its inception in the 1950s to almost complete coverage of 911 service across all America by the 1990s.
On the other hand, Pastor Arnold Prater pointed out years ago in one of his sermons that King David of Bible times called 9-1-1.
Did you know that? I didn’t.
David recorded his call in Psalm 91, verse one – 911:
(“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.”)
Notice his call was not characterized by panicked fear. Instead his attitude is one of calm faith. David affirmed several important truths about Who he was calling and what the Almighty had to offer to those who dwell in His shelter.
Wait a minute. DWELL? How do we dwell in the presence of an unseen God?
By bringing our thoughts back to him throughout the day with praise, worship, and gratitude. We can:
- Say his name to center our attention. He has dozens but to get us started, he is God Almighty, Maker of all things, The Lord Who Provides, and our Helper. Let who he is impact how we function.
- Breathe out the stressful, worrisome thoughts; breathe in the Spirit, the breath of the Almighty (Job 33:4). Listen for his voice.
- Pray, recite scripture, sing, even shout (Psalm 47:1-2)!
David says we dwell in the SHELTER of God. Bible writers used the word, shelter, or synonyms like refuge and sanctuary, more than 40 times. In Psalm 91, David alludes to several details of God’s sheltering protection. He is trustworthy (v. 2), faithful (v. 4), watchful (v. 11), attentive (v. 15), thoughtful and compassionate (vs. 15-16).
These traits are just a few examples of our Heavenly Father’s character—which he brings to bear in our lives. He never responds out of character; he is always motivated by love and goodness. Take shelter in such glorious thoughts!
In addition to those mentioned above, the MOST HIGH is another meaningful name of God. One of the ancient creeds described him as “a Spirit infinite, eternal and unchangeable in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth.” No one can claim to be of higher capacity or higher worth.
And in him we can REST. How? I like Spurgeon’s advice: “Use the Lord’s words as your pillows. Lie down and [rest] in Him.” We can collect pillow after pillow as we prayerfully read our Bibles, asking God to speak comfort and strength into our weary souls.
And in the SHADOW OF THE ALMIGHTY we find:
- Security (Psalm 17:8),
- Love and Kindness (Psalm 36:7),
- Refuge (Psalm 57:1),
- Satisfaction and Joy (Psalm 63:7).
Now some readers of Psalm 9-1-1 might assume David was promising a delightful, problem-free life of ease. But his own life proved otherwise as he ran from murderous King Saul, lived as a fugitive in enemy territory, fought numerous battles, dealt with problem sons, and more.
No, David would be among the first to tell us that God doesn’t rescue us from all difficulty; he uses difficulties to nudge us closer to him.
In the shelter of the Most High.
In the shadow of the Almighty.
What better place to be?
(Art & photo credits: www.youtube.com; http://www.wikimedia.org; http://www.thefellowshipsite.org; http://www.flickr.com; http://www.quotes.gram.com; http://www.pinterest (4).
From the Inside Out 
love this 911 verse. and that Spurgeon quote is great. I will remember that tonight when I lay down with my pillow. this post is full of wonderful imagery. love it
Thank you, Jean. ‘Delighted you found encouragement here!
I, too, zeroed in on the Spurgeon quote. Loved all three suggestions for dwelling in the presence of God. As an aside: The 911 scenario reminded of my days in telephony working on the implementation of that service. Lots of coordination, hard work, but totally worth it; especially the caller-recognition feature where you don’t need to identify where you are. And isn’t that also just like our relationship with Him? He automatically knows what we need, where we are in a situation, how our emotions are out of control? All we need do is ask! Beautiful and meaningful post!
Love your additional analogy based on the caller-recognition feature of 9-1-1. God does indeed know automatically what we need, where we are in the a situation, and our emotional state. One more proof of just how amazing our God is! Thank you, Cheri.
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Thank you, Bruce!
Saw this posted on Bruce R. Mills blog and loved the Word! Great post! Commented on Brother Bruce’s site, “I love this statement, “By bringing our thoughts back to him throughout the day with praise, worship, and gratitude.” This takes practice, but as the saying goes, practice makes perfect and before too long you will find your thoughts “dwelling” in the “shadow” of His Spirit, continually!
As a side note, that statement is the key to our command “pray without ceasing” as found in 1 Thessalonians 5:17! Prayer is communion with a Spiritual, Heavenly Father who desires a relationship with His Creation based totally on unconditional love!!! Great post and great Word!!!”
Thanks for a great and uplifting post!! God bless you richly as you continue to serve each of us and our Lord and Redeemer!!
Delighted that God used this post to give you an uplift, Roland. Your encouragement has uplifted me! 🙂 You are so right: 1 Thessalonians 5:17 offers a perfect companion scripture for this post. Thank you for stopping by and taking time to comment!