As the kids and I were driving through downtown Naperville to drop Jake and Derek off for swim practice yesterday, we heard on the radio that the windchill had already gotten down to -14 degrees.  Seconds later, we drove past a homeless woman pushing her bike, loaded down with bags and blankets, through the snow on the side of the street.  Her image has stuck with me.

With all of the snow and dangerously low temperatures we’ve experienced this week, I have literally awakened each morning with gratefulness on my lips for our house.  Our shelter.  Inside it, there’s warmth, safety, and rest.  Outside, I’m vulnerable to the weather, be it blizzards, scorching heat (hard to imagine today), or violent storms.

This sets up a great analogy to the shelter God provides those who love Him.  Inside His shelter, there is peace, fearlessness, and rest.  Outside of His shelter, I am vulnerable to storms of a different sort–stress, worry, fear, hopelessness, despair. Take some time to read through some examples of the shelter God provides, taken from Psalms and Isaiah:

“For in the day of trouble He will keep me safe in His dwelling; He will hide me in the shelter of His tabernacle and set me high upon a rock.”

“In the shelter of Your presence You hide [those who fear You] from the intrigues of men; in Your dwelling You keep them safe from accusing tongues.” (i.e. people can gossip all they want about me behind my back, but it is God who sees my heart and keeps me safe)

“I long to dwell in Your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of Your wings.”

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.”

“[God] will be a shelter and shade from the heat of the day, and a refuge and hiding place from the storm and rain.”

“You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat.  For the breath of the ruthless is like a storm driving against a wall.”

The homeless woman in Naperville longs for shelter.  Like her, every single human being on the planet, whether homeless or living in a mansion, longs for shelter from the storms of life…and only God can provide it.