Psalm 91:1

Psalm 91:1 "He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty."

When I first read this verse I thought it seemed a bit repetitive and wasn't quite sure what it meant. So I looked up the keywords in Strong's Concordance but felt more confused. It seems that to "dwell in the shelter" is like a permanent place of protection whereas to "abide in the shadow" seems to be a place of more temporary rest and protection. So to rewrite it based on my understanding of the words is: He who lives under the protection of the Lord will spend the night under the protection of the Lord. I put my notebook to the side because I just wasn't sure what to make of that. It seems a bit backwards - of course if you have permanent protection you will have daily protection.

Then I thought of a few conversations I've had lately with some solid Christians that all seemed to have the same theme. I know I can trust God with big things (the permanent), but it's hard to trust Him with the small things (the temporary). I trust God with eternity, but I question what He's doing when the circumstances of life don't turn out as I hoped. I dwell in the shelter of the Most High, but I struggle to abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

Maybe this verse should be my prayer: God, since I dwell in your shelter, since I know I can trust You with the big things, since I know You hold me in Your hands for eternity, help me to abide in Your shadow, help me trust you with the small things, help me not to question You when the circumstances of life don't turn out as I hoped. God, thank You for providing protection permanently and temporarily.

"If we trust you for eternity, why can't we trust you for today?" -Josiah Nordgren

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These are some of my thoughts after reading the Verse of the Day on my YouVersion Bible app.