He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. Psalm 91:1
When a severe weather warning was issued recently here in St. Louis, messages on our phones told us to shelter in place. I went to the basement and waited while I heard wind whipping, trees swaying and rain pelting the windows. Soon the storm was over, and I emerged from the basement to find that everything was still intact without any damage to my house or yard. Thanks be to God!
What is the purpose of sheltering in place? It is to keep us safe and protected in the midst of dangerous situations. It happens not only in bad weather, but in war, in mass shootings and in pandemics, as we have seen more recently, unfortunately. Closing ourselves off from the world in such situations does not always keep us away from harm completely, but it does give us hope.
In the Bible, we read that the disciples, out of fear, sheltered in place in the days after Christ’s resurrection in a locked upper room. There was a storm of sorts raging outside those walls, and all those who followed Christ who had died were now in danger of dying themselves at the hands of the same people. Sheltering in place kept that threat at bay, at least in the minds of the fearful disciples. They had a chance for survival in this place, they felt.
But eventually the disciples had to leave that shelter, and emerge into a world that seemed much more threatening. How did they do that? By listening to Jesus, who appeared before them in their sheltered place and said, “Peace be with you!” and he breathed on them the Holy Spirit (John 20:19, 22). With the strength of the Holy Spirit and the power of the peace of Christ, the disciples were able to go outside fear-free and at ease to spread the Gospel, knowing they would be sheltered by their Savior wherever they would go. We are sheltered in every place we go, too, because of Christ. Live in that peace and strength.