Building forts and clubhouses with my brother were a regular part of my growing-up years. Inside or outside, fancy or simple, we loved creating places to hide and dream and escape. And the fort made everything in life feel safe. I imagine right now that many homes have blanket forts with moved furniture creating castles and strongholds where children play and dream and imagine. And feel safe.
Verse 28 of Psalm 73 leaps out to me, “I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter.” What a perfect image for us of one who protects, who makes things safe. What a great picture for us to remember that in Jesus we have security. It’s not the kind of security that the world can offer; rather, it is the assurance of being loved and valued and treasured.
The Psalmist says that he desires God more than anything on earth. Beyond the greatest joys of family or friends, beyond the comforts that bring us pleasure, more than sights and sounds and smells of all the things we like best … we desire God more than any of that! Why? Because He is our shelter, our hiding place, the one who keeps us safe by reminding us that no matter what the world may throw at us, we belong completely to Him.
The forts my brother and I built wouldn’t have protected us if there were real danger. But we believed that they would. The shelter of God, however, does protect our hearts and our minds. You can call out and ask God for that kind of shelter today!