A few days ago I blogged about how God is our Jupiter…if you have not read it please do so before you read this post and it will make more sense…

Just as Jupiter is a shield and protector of Earth from the asteroids and meteorites floating through space, so God is our shield and protector. The Earth is positioned just in the right place in order to receive protection from the debris in space. In the same way if we are going to be under the covering of God we MUST be aligned under the shadow of His wings.

Psalm 91:1

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

The verse says, “WHOEVER DWELLS”…you see we must choose to place ourself (dwell) in the shelter of the Most High. Choosing to dwell in His shelter is about positioning ourselves under His will! Only when we are under His will are we truly in His shelter resting in His shadow. The verse does not say…”Everyone will be in the shelter of the Most High”…it says “Whoever dwells.” When we do not place ourself in His shelter we are subject to the storms of life. We willingly place ourselves in the danger zone. However, when we choose to dwell in His will we are under His protection. Being under God’s protection does not mean that there will never be storms. The storms are still there, but we are under His will and covering in the midst of the storms!

Not long ago my family and I went with some friends to a live Medieval Battle Game from a local college nearby. This group travels around doing demonstrations as they compete with replicated weapons and armor from different time periods and regions. There is a whole system as to how they score and officiate the battle. It was a very cool experience seeing these men and women battle it out in the 98 degree heat, I was very impressed. One of the things that stood out to me was the apparent need for a shield. Without a shield the battle would be over on the first blow, however with the shield they were able to last for the duration of the battle. Many times the shield was the only thing that allowed them to win.

We need a shield in order to not only survive but thrive in life. God is our shield but we must position ourself behind His shield. How do we position ourself within His shield?

1. Walk In Obedience

When we walk in obedience to God’s ways we are in His will. When we disobey God’s commands we step out from the shield. Obeying is about sacrificing our will for His will! Sometimes our will lines up with His will, but many times it does not! Those are the times we must humble ourselves and do what He has called us to do. This means things like forgiveness towards others is NOT an option. God commanded that we forgive others, it’s a nonnegotiable. To walk in unforgiveness is to walk outside His will. We must obey His commands if we are going to rest in His shadow.

2. Walk In Humility 

Walking in humility is about being God focused not self focused. It is SO easy to become enamored with ourself and our life that we forget to bring God into the mix of ALL things! We need to always remember that this is God’s story that He invited us in to. History is HIS-STORY! The future is His story, we are merely a cameo appearance we are not the star! Unless we realize we are not the ones that the spotlight is on we will always battle frustration and discontent. Humility is about accepting our role is God’s story!

3. Walk In Gratitude

The 5th life rule in my book LIFE RULES is…SMILE More Than You FROWN. In this chapter I talk about having an attitude of gratitude. Let me share a excerpt…

Staying grateful and appreciative is one of the greatest ways to keep yourself in line. When we let our attitude be one of thanksgiving, we tend to be much happier. It is when we feel we deserve something that we are in danger of being ungrateful. Ungratefulness turns into selfishness, and selfishness turns into pride. Pride keeps us from our fullest potential. Having an attitude of gratitude ensures we are on the road to success.  

 Your attitude can be your greatest asset or your worst liability. It can be a great asset because it can sustain you when things aren’t going well. It can cause you to lift yourself up as well as those around you when things seem to be negative. Attitude can keep you going when you want to give up.

Always remember this…

When you focus on what you DON’T have you will become bitter,

however when you focus on what you DO have you will become better!

Position yourself in the shelter of the Most High and let God be the shield that He is for you! Get behind the shield, don’t try to live life without a shield, it will not turn out well!