Shelter

^{Today I just wanted to share something that the Lord really blessed me with.  It's from a super old book from the early 70's about marriage. ("Super old" might not be the appropriate term...)  It's called "I Married You" by Walter Trobisch.  I had never heard of it but someone had lent it to my husband, and while I was waiting for him the other day, I saw it on his desk, picked it up and started reading.  It's not a long book, but it was pretty interesting.  Growing up in the church I had heard a lot of what the author was proposing about marriage, but he had some fresh approaches and ideas that I appreciated.  I'm not going to give a summary of the book here, but I did want to point out a very cool scripture that he uses in the book while talking about how 1) God is our shelter and save place and 2) sometimes he also provides a shelter called marriage. (For others who aren't married, God is their complete shelter and it is amazing!)}

The Word of God:

^{Isaiah 4:2-6  NIV  "2} In that day the Branch of the Lord will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of the survivors in Israel. ³ Those who are left in Zion, who remain in Jerusalem, will be called holy, all who are recorded among the living in Jerusalem. ⁴ The Lord will wash away the filth of the women of Zion; he will cleanse the bloodstains from Jerusalem by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of fire. ⁵ Then the Lord will create over all of Mount Zion and over those who assemble there a cloud of smoke by day and a glow of flaming fire by night; over all the glory will be a canopy. ⁶ It will be a shelter and shade from the heat of the day, and a refuge and hiding place from the storm and rain. " 

I just found that so beautiful and powerful.  The Branch of the Lord is referring ultimately to Christ - how amazing that He covers us.  And over all the glory of his fruit, being called holy, cleansing, being filled with the Spirit, and His leading  "will be a canopy".  His very presence that covers and sustains and protects us.  God did a lot of work in my heart just from reading these verses and I keep coming back to it. Read these words for yourself and ask God to let them sink into your heart.  Ask Him to plant a seed that will keep growing and changing and flourishing as you walk with Him in this particular knowledge of Him being our covering and shelter and safe place. 

I love Him and His word.