Immune to Fear Week 5预览

 The Shelter of His Presence 

  Even in dire circumstances, amid turmoil and chaos, you can remain hidden in Christ, shielded and safe within an impenetrable fortress made of walls a thousand miles thick. He is a still, enclosed garden amid the chaos outside. He will keep your spirit stable as if you were not really under such extreme conditions. “They will neither hunger nor thirst, nor will the desert heat or the sun beat down on them” (Isa. 49:10). How can this be? How can our most vulnerable time be our most protected and durable time? Because God “is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psa. 46:1). 

“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.’ Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked. If you say, ‘The Lord is my refuge,’ and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent” (Psa. 91:1-10). 

Think about this. When did God first promise He would abide with His people? When did He establish His presence with them? When did He give specific instructions for building His tabernacle in the middle of their camp? In the wilderness! That was the very time He inaugurated His personal, permanent presence with Israel. To this day Jews celebrate the “Feast of Booths,” a festival celebrating the season when they lived in tents in the wilderness, and God lived in a tent among them. The wilderness is not the place of God’s absence. It is the place where He establishes His presence in a fresh way. The place of His presence is with you! Right where you are at— He is your refuge and fortress! 

People often say that God’s presence is more real to their souls in the midst of troubling times than usual. In the middle of great pain and suffering, they come to know the presence of Jesus in a deeper more powerful and personal way than they had ever experienced before. No matter how discouraged you may be feeling—rouse yourself to seek the Lord. Make His faithfulness your shield and shelter. Wrap yourself in His truth and love. Spend time in His presence and in His word, and know that you are hidden in a powerful fortress that the darkness cannot penetrate. 

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” (Psalm 23:4-6) 

Source: (Surviving Your Wilderness. Survival Tip #3: Find Shelter.)