Extremely profound and life-changing. It made me see God in a deeper light. And I hope that I will remember this everyday
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty
I will say of the LORD,
"He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust."
Most High - El Elyon
He is the Most High God, the highest of the high, the ruler of all, the King of kings and Lord of lords. He created us in His image, and we belong to Him. Thus, He is in control of all things - of the universe, of all creation, and he should have pre-eminence in our lives. To dwell in the shelter of the Most High is then to live in utter submission to this God who has created us in love and out of love. We are living in an incredibly busy world - work, life, family, friends - all great but after a long time of trying to juggle it all it will get tiring. It is then important to just take some time out and rest in His shelter.
In Genesis 14, Abram, who would go on to become Abraham, defeated Kedorlaomer and his allies because they captured his relatives. Abram was then met by Melchizedek, the High Priest (another person whose story will be told another day) and Melchizedek blessed Abram. Abram then gave a tenth of everything he owned. The king of Sodom wanted to give Abram more wealth, but Abram raised his hands to El Elyon and swore that no one but God will make him wealthy, so that no one may say that the king of Sodom made Abram wealthy.
Almighty - El Shaddai
"El" means powerful. Scholars cannot agree on the meaning of "Shaddai" and hence there are two camps - one believes that it means "strong, like a mountain", while the other believs that it means "like a mother's breast." Combing these meanings, we then have an image of a God who is powerful and strong, mighty and all-sufficient but at the same time loving, nourishing and satisifying like a mother's love. He supplies all our needs, and He doesn't need us to help him out.
Sarai, Abram's wife, tried to help God out. God has promised Abraham that he will become a father of all nations, and through him, all the world will be blessed. But he was of old age and had no children. Sarai tried to help God out by asking Abram to sleep with her maidservant, Haggar. From that union came Ishmael. But this was still not the child that God had promised. This "helping God out" may have been one of the biggest mistakes in history because until today, we can still feel the impact of that act. Then at the age of 99, when Abram and Sarai were as good as dead, God appeared to Abram and said:"I am El Shaddai; walk before me and be blameless. I will confirm my covenant with you and greatly increase your numbers." (Gen. 17). This appearance of God was the starting point of Abram becoming Abraham, the receiver of this wonderful promise. Sarai became Sarah. A year after that, the promised child, Isaac, was born. Through the years, God was faithful to this covenant, and this promise was fulfill in the person of Jesus - the forever living descendant of Abraham.
Is there a promise that you have been waiting for? Let God do the work.
LORD - Jehovah
He is a just, holy and righteous God who must purge evil because this is His character. People always talk about how it is God's love that held Jesus at the cross; yes, but it is His righteousness that compelled him to hang there in order to deal with evil once and for all. He then calls us to righteous living. How are we suppose to dwell in his righteousness as a refuge, as He is such a loving, wonderful God, but yet, so just? How are mere sinners suppose to stand in this presence? We do so by living a repented life - a life that acknowledges the saving grace of Jesus, and to turn away from sin, that we may be called "good and faithful servants".
God - Elohim
He is the one who stands on covenant relationships, as He cannot break His promises. He is trustworthy. He will never leave us nor forsake us, engraving our names in the palm of His hands. He restores and He never forgets our names.
In Genesis 15, Abram asked God:" How can I trust you?" when God wanted to make a covenant relationship with him. In the olden days, covenant was made by cutting animals into half, leaving a trench or a trail of blood in between the pieces. Both parties are then to walk on each side of the animal pieces as a sign that says: If I ever break the covenant, let what happened to the animal happen to me." But we see that when God made the covenant with Abram, He alone walked through the ceremony, in a form of a blazing fire. God decided to bring unto himself the burden of bearing both sides of the promise. And again God did this when Jesus came and died on the cross as our perfect substitution. Indeed a trustworthy God that will still remain faithful even though all others are faithless, because He cannot go against His own character. Remember that He never forgets who you are.
Isaiah 49:15-16.
Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me.
Elohim never forgets.
I will dwell in the shelter of the Most High
- I belong in the arms of the Father
I will rest in the shadow of the Almighty
- I will be fruitful and not step out of God's shadow. I will get to know Him
I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress
- I will live a repented life. Every time the Holy Spirit urges me on something, I will deal with it. I will not run.
My God, in whom I trust
- I will trust in God because there is security in His name.
Help me know you Lord.
