Shelter in Place

When I was growing up building shelters was one of my favorite pastimes.  In the summer months I would head down to the nearby creek and build forts.   At our family home I built a special 'bunker' in our backyard.  It was filled with my stuff and it made for a fun-filled summer.  In our church's boy's club we learned how to build shelters for camping in the middle of a Canadian winter.  How I enjoyed those camp-outs -- even in several feet of snow!   

Now we are told to "shelter-in-place".  The basics of a "shelter-in-place" order during the coronavirus pandemic are fairly clear: stay at home!  The purpose of such an order is to enforce social distancing, or to keep people away from each other to limit the spread of the virus.  There is nothing inherently dangerous about going outside. The danger is in being close to other people who are infected, whether they know it or not.  I don't think I am alone when I say that this "sheltering-in-place" has not been easy nor enjoyable!    

While restrictions are loosening in some parts of Australia, many people have found this "shelter-in-place" order does not provide much shelter.  Reports of domestic violence are surging worldwide as couples and families are stuck at home together for long periods because of government restrictions.   Acute feelings of loneliness and isolation are experienced by many.   Add to this: uncertainty, economic fall-out, unemployment, and overall fear.  How does one truly find shelter from all of this?  In times like this?

People attempt to find shelter in so many ways.  They look to the stuff of life: their relationships, homes, possessions, bank account(s), health, government.  But sooner or later we realise that all of these things pass away.   Life is fleeting!   We do well to do as David did when when he prayed, "Show me, O LORD, my life's end and the number of the days; let me know how fleeting is my life." (Psalm 39:4)    In reality "each man's life is but a breath.  Man is a mere phantom." (Psalm 39:5-6)   "All we are is a puff of air; we're like shadows in a campfire." (Psalm 144:4 MSG)  Even if one tries to numb the pang of the pandemic through over-eating or over-indulging in alchohol, one still is left unfulfilled (Proverbs 23:20-21). 

If anything, this COVID-19 pandemic reminds us again and again of the Biblical truth that the only true shelter we have in life is our relationship with God through Jesus Christ.  In the Bible we read:   "He who 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)  If one shelters-in-place with God the storms of life will not topple you nor acute fear derail you.   Under the covering that God provides, one finds the satisfaction of a life lived to its full (Psalm 91:4,16).  In the words of the hymn writer Vernon J. Charlesworth: "The Lord's our Rock, in Him we hide, a shelter in the time of storm;  secure whatever ill betide, a shelter in the time of storm."   We find safe shelter in the midst of the perils of a pandemic through a relationship with our faithful God and heavenly Father (Psalm 16:1).

It is no wonder that in the CRCA we say that prayer is our number one task.  When we spend time in dialogue with God we are assured of his love and reminded how much he will take care of us.  Any good relationship requires this dialogue of listening and then sharing our own thoughts.   So it is in our relationship with God.   We listen to Him as we read and meditate on His Word;  we share our thoughts, our concerns, our hopes, and fears as we pray.   During these uncertain days one can easily feel that everything has been stripped away.  But you will never know how much you need God until God is all you have!  Perhaps this is a lesson we all need to learn during this pandemic.   In the words of Lord's Day One of the Heidelberg Catechism:   "Our only comfort in life and in death is knowing that we are not our own but belong body and soul, in life and in death, to our faithful Saviour Jesus Christ."   Not one comfort among many.   Our only comfort.   The only truth that will give you comfort in life and in death.   This confessional statement goes on to explain that, in addition to the forgiveness of our sins and eternal life, our God "watches over [us] in such a way that not a hair can fall from [our] head without the will of [our] Father in heaven: in fact, all things must work together for [our] salvation."  

If you want shelter in our current storm of life, then stay at home with God!  That's the only place to find complete shelter.  And as you shelter-in-place with God make room in your life so that others too may find that same shelter.  Rather than keep away from people, find ways to draw people near.   The prophet Ezekiel announced:  "Birds of every kind will nest in it; they will find shelter in the shade of its branches." (Ezekiel 17:23; see Mark 4:30-32)  Birds of every kind -- all kinds of people finding shelter, finding shade under the cover that God provides.  The Lord's our Rock - so shelter-in-place!