Whoever 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.” (Psalm 91:1-2).
We will all face difficult times throughout our lives. And we will all need shelter and refuge at such times.
In fact, years ago, there was a very curious advertisement that touched on this point..
It showed some kids bullying another one, but then he called his cousin, a Zumosol orange juice drinker who was really strong, and solved the problem.
This concept of the cousin of zumosol was funny, and hence when someone had an important problem, the expression “go to or call the cousin of zumosol” was used.
The truth is that we would all like to have a cousin to turn to when things go wrong.
Disqualifications, contempt, abuse, defenselessness and other similar situations would be much easier to resolve if we had the help of such a cousin.
This is one of the reasons for the emergence of all kinds of associations.
Associations of patients, professionals and trade unions, are a positive sign of this desire to count on the help of other people who are more prepared or more experienced than us.
But here too we have a dark side. Thus, we can see the proliferation of gangs or anti-establishment groups of one sign or another, who encourage, prepare and help their members to be more destructive and violent than their adversaries.
And this, with the mistaken belief that with force they will be able to impose their proposals, or that they will be able to benefit from violence and coercion. And they do not know that their path of violence is a path of death for themselves.
Christians, for our part, have the church. A community in which we can feel safe, welcomed and protected from the outside world, and to which many come in search of that shelter.
And this is very positive, because that is one of the functions of the Church.
Now, the Church is a community, not a place where we can live.
And it is a help, a very important tool for our growth, but there will be situations in which, for one reason or another, we will not be able to count on it.
Abraham had to leave his home, David had to flee to the land of the Philistines, even Jesus was left alone in Gethsemane, even though he was surrounded by his disciples….
And then what?
The answer is found in the first two verses of Psalm 91, which read as follows: Whoever 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.”
Of course, God has left his Church to serve as an umbrella for those who seek refuge in it. But we must be aware that protection, the real protection, comes from God. And even if this umbrella, which is the Church, is blown away by the wind of the storm, we can always be sure of finding shelter in God.
For He is shelter on cold and stormy days, when loneliness wounds us and darkness surrounds us; and He is shade when the sun of trial beats down on us and dryness leaves us without strength.
And it is hope in the midst of problems, even if at times this hope is as faint as mist. But it is also a castle, tall, solid and firm, which surrounds us with its walls to protect us from any attack from our enemy.
So don’t envy the world when it brings out its “zumosol” cousins, and don’t be afraid of them when they come against you. For they are but modern “Goliaths” who, like the former, will be defeated by faith.
While you will be safe dwelling in the shelter of the Most High remembering the words of the epistle to the Romans chapter 8 and verse 31: “…If God is for us, who can be against us?”
God bless you.
Cover photo by Juliane Liebermann on Unsplash
