THE SHADOW OF THE ALMIGHTY

 When God is not just our refuge, but our dwelling place

“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.”

Psalm 91:1 (KJV)

There is a beautiful difference between visiting God and dwelling with God.

Some people run to God when trouble comes, stay for a while, receive comfort, and then return to living as though they have no need of Him. But Psalm 91 is speaking about something deeper. It is not about occasionally visiting the secret place; it is about dwelling there.

God does not merely want to be our emergency shelter. He wants to be our home.

Illustration 1: The child under his father's umbrella

Imagine a father walking with his little child under a large umbrella during a heavy rainstorm. The child doesn't spend the journey looking at the dark clouds and wondering whether the rain will stop.

Why?

Because the child is looking at the father and staying close to him.

The rain may still be falling. The thunder may still be sounding. But the child has discovered something more important than the absence of the storm: the presence of the father.

That is what it means to dwell in God's secret place.

Being under God's shadow does not mean that we will never experience storms. It means that the storm does not have the final word over us.

 

THE SECRET PLACE IS A PLACE OF INTIMACY

A shadow is only useful when you are close to the person or object casting it.

You cannot enjoy someone's shadow while walking far away from them.

Likewise, the secret place is not primarily a physical location. It is a life of close fellowship with God—prayer, His Word, worship, obedience and continual dependence on Him.

The closer we walk with God, the more His presence becomes greater than our fears.

Sometimes our problem is not that God is far away.

We are simply too distracted to notice how near He is.

We wake up and immediately think about bills, work, family, problems, news and responsibilities. We carry yesterday's disappointments into today and tomorrow's fears into today.

But God says:

“Come and dwell with Me.”

Before you face the world, come into His presence.

Before you listen to the voices around you, listen to His voice.

Before fear tells you what will happen, let God's Word tell you who He is.

 

Illustration 2: The tree and its shadow

On a very hot day, a traveller may become exhausted walking under the scorching sun.

Then suddenly he sees a large tree.

He doesn't admire the tree from a distance.

He moves underneath it.

The sun has not disappeared. The heat has not disappeared. But his relationship to the heat has changed because he has found shelter.

Beloved, sometimes God does not immediately remove the heat from our lives.

Instead, He invites us to come under His shadow.

Your circumstances may not change immediately, but your heart can change.

The diagnosis may still be there.

The financial pressure may still be there.

The family challenge may still be there.

The unanswered prayer may still be there.

But you can say:

“I am not facing this alone. I dwell under the shadow of the Almighty.”

 

WHEN YOU DWELL, FEAR LOSES ITS VOICE

Psalm 91:5 says:

“Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day.”

Notice that Scripture does not say there will be no terror or no arrows.

It says:

“Thou shalt not be afraid.”

There may be arrows, but you don't have to live in fear of them.

There may be frightening headlines, but they don't have to occupy your heart.

There may be uncertainty about tomorrow, but you don't have to surrender today's peace to tomorrow's possibilities.

Why?

Because your security is not ultimately in what you know about tomorrow. Your security is in the One who already knows tomorrow.

Illustration 3: The sleeping child

Have you ever watched a small child sleep peacefully while a storm is raging outside?

Thunder may shake the windows. Rain may beat against the roof. Wind may howl outside.

Yet the child sleeps.

Why?

The child knows, perhaps without understanding all the details, “My father and mother are here.”

That is the kind of confidence God desires to develop in us.

We don't sleep peacefully because we understand everything.

We sleep peacefully because we know Who holds everything.

Faith does not say, “Nothing bad can ever happen.”

Faith says:

“Whatever happens, God will be with me.”

 

DON'T LET THE STORM DRIVE YOU OUT OF THE SECRET PLACE

There is something particularly powerful about the statement in the devotion:

“Let us refuse to allow terrifying headlines or daily hardships to lure us out of our dwelling place.”

Sometimes trouble makes us pray more—but sometimes trouble makes us pray less.

We become so anxious about the problem that we stop looking at God.

We spend hours thinking about what could go wrong, but only minutes talking to the One who holds our future.

The enemy would love for your circumstances to become so loud that you can no longer hear God's voice.

But today, God is calling you back.

Come back to the secret place.

Come back to prayer.

Come back to Scripture.

Come back to worship.

Come back to that quiet confidence that says:

“My Father is still on the throne.”

 DWELLING, NOT VISITING

There is a difference between a guest and a resident.

A guest comes occasionally.

A resident lives there.

Many Christians treat God's presence like a guest house: “Lord, I will come when I need You.”

But God is calling us to something deeper:

“Make My presence your home.”

Let prayer become more than an activity.

Let it become your conversation with your Father.

Let God's Word become more than something you read.

Let it become the voice that guides your life.

Let worship become more than singing.

Let it become the posture of your heart.

When God's presence becomes our dwelling place, we begin to discover that peace is not the absence of trouble; peace is the presence of God in the middle of trouble.

TODAY'S REFLECTION

Ask yourself honestly:

Where do I run first when I am afraid?

To people?

To money?

To my own strength?

To endless worrying?

Or to God?

And ask another question:

Am I visiting God's presence, or am I dwelling there?

God is not asking you to pretend that your problems don't exist.

He is asking you to bring them under His shadow.

Your fears.

Your family.

Your finances.

Your future.

Your disappointments.

Your unanswered questions.

Bring everything home to Him.

 

A SIMPLE PRACTICE FOR TODAY

Before you begin your day's activities, spend a few quiet minutes with God.

Put your phone aside.

Close your eyes.

Take a deep breath and say:

“Father, I choose to dwell with You today.

 I cannot control everything that will happen today,

 but I know You will be with me.

 Cover my heart with Your peace.

 Guide my thoughts, words and decisions.

 Let me remain under Your shadow.”

Then read Psalm 91 slowly.

Don't rush it.

Dwell in the words.

  

PRAYER

Father,

Thank You for being our refuge, our shelter and our safe dwelling place.

Forgive us for the times we have treated You as an emergency contact instead of our daily home.

Teach us to dwell in Your presence—not only when life is difficult, but every day.

When fear comes, draw us closer.

When the future looks uncertain, remind us that

You are already there.

When the heat of life's circumstances becomes unbearable, hide us under the shadow of Your wings.i

Quiet every anxious thought.

Strengthen every weary heart.

Heal every wounded soul.

Give us the grace to remain close to You when prayers seem unanswered and when circumstances seem unchanged.

May our lives become so rooted in Your presence that the storms around us cannot destroy the peace within us.

We choose to dwell in the secret place of the Most High.

 We choose to abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

In Jesus' name,

Amen.

DECLARATION

I will not live as a spiritual visitor. I will dwell with God.

 His presence is my home.

 His Word is my foundation.

 His shadow is my covering.

 His peace is my strength.

 Whatever comes today, I am not alone.

 I am under the shadow of the Almighty.

Parental Favoritism

 Genesis 25:28 explicitly tells us:

“And Isaac loved Esau… but Rebekah loved Jacob.”

The problem was not that Esau and Jacob were different. Their differences were natural: Esau was an outdoorsman and hunter, while Jacob was more settled and quiet. Difference is not the problem; partiality is.

Isaac and Rebekah allowed their personal preferences to determine how they related to their sons. Isaac leaned toward Esau, while Rebekah leaned toward Jacob. Instead of creating a home where both sons could feel equally valued, the parents' preferences contributed to rivalry and division.

A key lesson for parents

Loving children equally does not mean treating

them identically.

Every child has different abilities, personalities, needs and weaknesses. One may require more attention at a particular stage of life; another may need more discipline or encouragement. That is not necessarily favoritism.

Favoritism is when a parent consistently communicates, directly or indirectly, that one child is more valuable, more loved, more trusted, or more important than another.

This can happen through:

•            Constantly praising one child while criticizing another.

•            Comparing siblings.

•            Giving one child preferential treatment.

•            Taking one child's side without hearing the other.

•            Showing greater affection toward the child whose personality or achievements the

parent prefers.

•            Making one child feel that they can never measure up to their sibling.

The wounds caused by this can last for many years.

The danger of parental favoritism

The tragedy in Isaac and Rebekah's family is that parental favoritism did not remain between the parents and their children; it affected the relationship between the brothers.

The rivalry surrounding the birthright and blessing eventually contributed to Jacob fleeing from Esau. The family became divided, and deception entered the relationship.

There is therefore a serious warning here for parents:

What we repeatedly communicate through our preferences can become what our children

believe about themselves and about one another.

A child who is constantly less favored may develop feelings of rejection, insecurity or resentment. The favored child can also be affected, because he or she may develop entitlement or become caught in unhealthy family competition.

“God values each of His children uniquely, and parents are called to love and value their children without making one feel superior or another inferior.”

 

 let us examine our hearts. Do we have a child whose personality, achievements or character naturally attracts us more than the others? Are we unconsciously communicating that preference? Children should not have to compete for their parents' affection. They

need to know that they are loved, valued and accepted. We may not be able to make every child identical in our treatment, but we can make every child secure in our love. Let us learn from Isaac and Rebekah that parental favoritism can sow seeds of division, while impartial love can help build a home of security, unity and trust.

 

“A child should never have to compete with a sibling to feel loved by a parent.”

 

To children:

1.      Your value does not depend on being the favourite. Look at David?

2. Don't compete with your brothers and sisters for love.

3. Don't use your parents' favoritism as an

excuse for bad behaviour.  Even if a child is treated unfairly, that does not justify lying, cheating, revenge, disrespect or hurting a sibling. Someone else's wrong does not give us permission to do wrong.

4. Learn to celebrate your siblings.

Instead of thinking, “Why does he always get more attention than me?”, teach children to say, “I can be happy for my brother or sister without feeling that I have lost my place.”

 

Parents must learn not to show favoritism, while children must learn not to allow favoritism to create bitterness, jealousy or hatred in their hearts.

BITTER FOR BETTER

 Text: Proverbs 9:7–9 (KJV)

“He that reproveth a scorner getteth to himself shame: and he that rebuketh a wicked man getteth himself a blot.”

 — Proverbs 9:7

Introduction

Nobody naturally enjoys being corrected.

We may appreciate encouragement, compliments, recognition and affirmation, but correction is different. Correction exposes what we would rather hide. It tells us that something in our thinking, attitude, behaviour or decision needs to change.

And sometimes correction hurts.

But here is an important truth:

Something can be bitter to receive and still be good for us.

A healthy vegetable may not taste as good as junk food, but what tastes good is not always what is good for the body. In the same way, what feels good to hear is not always what is good for the soul.

Sometimes the words we most need are the words we least want to hear.

That is why the Bible teaches us not only how to give correction, but also how to receive correction.

 

1. Correction is not rejection

When someone corrects us, our first reaction can be:

"Why are you attacking me?"

"Why are you always finding fault with me?"

"Who gave you the right to tell me what to do?"

But correction and rejection are not the same thing.

A person who truly loves you may sometimes tell you something you don't want to hear because they care about who you are becoming.

Proverbs 27:5–6 says:

“Open rebuke is better than secret love. Faithful are the wounds of a friend…”

A faithful friend will not always tell you what makes you comfortable. Sometimes he will tell you what can make you better.

A father corrects his child because he wants the child to grow.

A coach corrects a player because he wants the player to improve.

A doctor tells a patient what needs to change because he wants the patient to become healthy.

And God sometimes uses people around us to reveal things about ourselves that we cannot

see.

The question is not, “Did the correction hurt?”

The better question is:

“Is there truth in what I have been told?”

 2. The bitter truth can produce a better life

Imagine someone taking medicine.

It may be bitter. You may dislike the taste. You may even wish you did not have to take it.

But you don't reject the medicine simply because it tastes bad.

Why?

Because you understand that the purpose is greater than the taste.

Godly correction can be like medicine.

It may expose pride.

It may reveal impatience.

It may uncover a wrong attitude.

It may challenge our treatment of our wife or children.

It may expose how we speak to people.

It may reveal that our priorities are wrong.

It may show us that we are becoming too ambitious, too controlling, too defensive or too self-centred.

The truth may hurt, but the purpose of correction is not to destroy us.

It is to help us become better.

Hebrews 12:11 says:

“Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous…”

Correction doesn't always feel good in the moment.

But the verse continues by saying that afterward it produces the fruit of righteousness.

That is the principle:

The pain of correction can produce the fruit of transformation.

 

3. Proverbs warns us about the person who refuses correction

Proverbs 9:7–8 does not only talk about the person giving correction. It also describes the person receiving it.

“He that reproveth a scorner getteth to himself shame…”

Why?

Because the scorner does not respond to correction with humility. He responds with hostility.

Instead of asking, “Could this be true?”, he attacks the person correcting him.

This is dangerous.

A person can become so committed to

defending himself that he becomes unwilling to examine himself.

And once a person becomes uncorrectable, growth becomes extremely difficult.

There is a great difference between making a mistake and refusing correction.

We will all make mistakes.

We will all sometimes speak wrongly.

We will sometimes make poor decisions.

We will sometimes hurt people without intending to.

We will sometimes misunderstand situations.

But a wise person can say:

“I was wrong. Thank you for showing me. I will work on it.”

That is not weakness.

That is maturity.

4. The wise man does not have to agree immediately

Receiving correction does not mean accepting every accusation blindly.

There is a difference between humility and gullibility.

Someone may correct you and be wrong.

Someone may misunderstand your situation.

Someone may even correct you with a wrong motive.

Therefore, we should take correction before God and examine it.

Ask:

•            Is what this person saying true?

•            Does Scripture support it?

•            Is there something I need to change?

•            Have other mature people noticed the same thing?

•            What is God trying to teach me through this?

•            Is my reaction coming from humility or pride?

Sometimes the correction may be partly right and partly wrong.

A mature person does not throw away the entire message simply because the messenger was imperfect.

He searches for the truth.

 

Prayer

Father, thank You because You love us enough to correct us. Forgive us for the times we have responded to correction with pride, anger, defensiveness or resentment. Give us humble and teachable hearts. Help us to recognise the truth even when it is difficult to hear. Give us godly brothers who will speak the truth to us in love, and give us wisdom and courage to do the

same for others.

Lord, make us men who are willing to change. Remove pride from us and develop in us the character of Christ. May every correction You bring into our lives produce greater wisdom, stronger character, deeper humility and greater usefulness in Your Kingdom.

In Jesus' name, Amen.