It’s high noon in June. I’m sitting on the front porch swing at my friend’s Tennessee farmhouse. In front of me are rolling acres of those famous Tennessee hills. To my right is a large pond and pastures for the horses. Behind me, past the flower gardens, are more acres of trees, coves and farmland.

More startling than the healing scenery is the revelation coming to me as I rock. Seven feet in front of me the sun blazes down on the grass. There, the heat is scorching.

Up here, elevated on the porch, and under the shadow of the ceiling I feel no heat, only the breeze. It is a refreshing reprieve. I’m aware of the heat out there, but it is not touching me.

I hear Him speak, “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.”

I open my Bible and begin reading one of my favorite passages: Psalms 91 in the Amplified version. Wow! God is offering me a place to escape the heat that beats down on me everyday in this life. As I read, I literally began to feel transformed about my circumstances.

Listen in.

v.1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty (Whose power no foe can withstand).

My circumstances are unstable. He is not. While other things shake around me, He says I can remain stable and fixed. I am fixed in Him, not in my surroundings. I don’t need everything to be perfect in my life to be stable. He makes me stable.

v.2 I will say of the Lord, He is my Refuge and my Fortress, my God on Him I lean and rely, and in Him I (confidently) trust.

I cannot lean on Him and my old habits, old ways, and old mindsets at the same time. I have a choice to make. He is not my Fortress unless I give Him that place in my life.

Jesus, here are the controls.

v.5  You shall not be afraid of the terror of the night, nor of the arrow (the evil plots and slanders of the wicked) that flies by day.

v.7 A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not come near you.

AND, the one that JUMPED out at me…

v.8 Only a spectator shall you be (yourself inaccessible in the secret place of the Most High) as you witness the reward of the wicked.

When I abide under His shadow, I am NOT even accessible to the plans of the enemy. This is one of those rare times, I’d just rather be a spectator.

v.9 Because you have made the Lord your refuge, and the Most High your dwelling place,

v.10 There shall no evil befall you, nor any plague or calamity come near your tent.

v.11 For He will give His angels (especial) charge over you to accompany and defend and preserve you in all your ways (of obedience and service).

He promises angelic covering that will literally be with me, defend me and keep me in all of my ways related to my obedience and my service. Let’s break it down. He does not promise to keep me in all of Kimberly’ ways, but in the ways of my life that align with His will and the work He has given me to do.

I must ask myself, What’s the last word God gave me to obey? Have I obeyed? Am I really investing the best of me in His service?

So, what’s the heat like in your life? What are you running from? Is it false accusations, marriage problems, financial pressure, or a feeling of complacency? Are you needing to escape depression, disease, anxiety or bitterness?

Perhaps you’re feeling the heat because you’ve come out from under the Shadow.

He is offering you a position of abiding in His shadow, a place to escape the heat, once and for all.

P.S. – These promises attached to abiding, propel me to my next area of study… What does it really mean to abide under His shadow? That is most certain where I want to live.