6 words till Christmas... shelter...

The word comes today... and I wonder...
Is that a Christmas word...?
shelter...?

shelter... something that covers or affords protection... a position or the state of being covered and protected...

---Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Ed.

 I consider the Christmas story... and find some seeking shelter...

Elizabeth took shelter in her home after becoming pregnant...

After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months

she kept herself hidden, saying, "Thus the Lord has done for me

in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach

among the people."

Luke 1:24 ESV

Up to this point... Elizabeth had been barren...

she and Zechariah had no children...

To be childless in the Jewish tradition...

was to be cursed by God... 

A house full of children...

proved his favor and blessing...

Elizabeth in her old age sheltered herself at home...

five months she praised God... for taking away her reproach from among the community...

but she didn't go out in public... till proof of a swollen belly revealed God's blessing...

Who would have believed her...?

if she told neighbors... friends... of the coming birth...?!

They would have chided her even more...

so she waited... and took shelter in Him...

Shelter...

Mary... she took shelter under Zechariah's and Elizabeth's roof too...

hurrying to their home after the angel left her...

And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb.

And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry,

"Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!

And why is this granted me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby

in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there

would be fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord." ...

And Mary remained with her about three months and returned home.

Luke 1:41-45, 56 ESV

None would believe the story of Mary...

a virgin overshadowed by God Most High...

to bear a Son...

But here with Elizabeth...

filled with the revelation of the Holy Spirit...

Mary found a place of protection...

to come to grips with what was happening...

to solidify her faith... and resolve...

to let it be... as He had said...

Shelter...

Mary and Joseph couldn't find a room in an inn...

but they did find shelter in a barn... and a manger filled with hay...

and swaddling cloths... to lay baby Jesus in...

Shelter...

I'm feeling the need for a little shelter myself today...

and I realize... the One in the manger...

the One born in a barn...

came to bring us the ultimate shelter...

from the sin of the world...

the storm stirred up by rebellion against His Word...

He is our Shelter from the storm...

the storm of sin and doubt in our lives...

and that brought on by others...

One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after:

that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,

to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.

For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble;

he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;

he will lift me high upon a rock. And now my head

shall be lifted up above the enemies all around me,

and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy;

I will sing and make melody to the Lord.

Psalm 27:4-6 ESV

Shelter...

an Advent word...

I seek today...

security in waiting...

We wait in hope for the Lord;

he is our help and our shield.

In him our hearts rejoice,

for we trust in his holy name.

May your unfailing love rest upon us,

O Lord, even as we put our hope in you.

Psalm 33:20-22

At times... people say and do things... intentionally or unintentionally... that pierce our hearts... hurt out feelings... wound our spirits...

At these times... it's important to remember... that as... we wait on... hope in... the Lord... He is... our shield...

In Christ... we are the temple of God...

Do you not know that you are God's temple

and that God's Spirit dwells in you?

1Corinthians 3:16

Today... as I wrestled with a hurt... He graciously reminded me... His temple... is the most secure place to be...

Ezekiel... had a vision regarding the temple...

After that, the man brought me into the sanctuary of the Temple. He measured the walls on either side of its doorway, and they were 10 1/2 feet thick. The doorway was 17 1/2 feet wide, and the walls on each side of it were 8 3/4 feet long. The sanctuary itself was 70 feet long and 35 feet wide. 

Then he went beyond the sanctuary into the inner room. He measured the walls on either side of its entrance, and they were 3 1/2 feet thick. The inner room of the sanctuary was 35 feet long and 35 feet wide. "This," he told me, "is the Most Holy Place."

Then he measured the wall of the Temple, and it was 10 1/2 feet thick. ...

Ezekiel 41:1-5 NLT

Walls 10 1/2 feet thick... protected the inner sanctuary... in this plan for the earthly temple... but if you go on and read... there were additional walls... 8 3/4 feet thick for the outer courts... The Most Holy Place... was physically secure...

Now for Believers... our hearts... are the Most Holy Place... the dwelling place of God's Spirit... and if His plans to protect an earthly temple were so fortified... how much more fortified will our hearts be spiritually...?

His... unfailing love... rests upon us...

Remember... as you wait on the Lord... He will keep you secure... do not let others define your worth... do not let your feelings lead you astray...

Waiting on Him... is the most secure... place... to... be...

Related fare...

hope... for those who are tired...

serving on the sly...

the most holy place

Sovereign shelter

Several concepts... recur... regularly... of late...

The concept of shelter... a covering... protection... that provides...

Because you are my helper;

I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings.

Psalm 63:7

NLT

The concept of obedience... the love that forges friendship with Him...

"...You are my friends if you do what I command. ..."

John 15:14

The concept that following Him... brings transformation... healing... in others...

... if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

2 Chronicles 7:14

(emphasis mine)

Coming under His sovereignty... as a Believer... provides shelter... a new level of relationship with Him... and  our humility... embracing our own depravity... brings about change... in this dark world...

"...For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him."

Genesis 18:19

(my emphasis)

A verse from the study with sisters today... that caught... 

Longing to direct... a beloved child... one whom rebellion has a hold... I see my role... do what is right and just...

Of course... I CAN'T do this... 

Only by walking before Him... with Him... in His Light... 

do I have any hope of being right... or... just...

Loving Him with all my heart... mind... soul... strength... obediently... seeking shelter... in His Sovereignty... can I direct this child... to keep the way of the Lord...

Here I sing for joy... in the shadow of His wing... trusting Him as Lord... refreshed... by His reign...

May the king's rule be refreshing like spring rain on freshly cut grass, like the showers that water the earth.

Psalm 72:6

NLT

Others may balk... at seeking shelter... protection... from a God who commands obedience... 

But as for me, how good it is to be near God!

I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter,

and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do!

Psalm 73:28

NLT