One of my favorites,  Psalm 91, which I continually pray over you, starts off “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.  I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God, in Him will I trust.” 

    People say there are those practicing witchcraft against Christians.  So what??? Who cares??  If God be for you, who can be against you?  Better still, If God be for you, who cares who’s against you? 

    Some may be saying right now, That sounds a bit reckless.  Well, I guess that depends on the size of your God.    Mine’s the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY, and I dwell in the secret place of the Most High.  You know, that abiding place under the shadow of the Almighty?  That’s the one I’m talking about. 

    Psalm 91 reminds me of the story of the Big Bad Wolf and the Three Pigs.  When the Big Bad Wolf threatened the Three Pigs, they found their straw house was no protection for them.  Nor was their wood one.  But in their brick house, they could tell the Wolf to huff and puff and blow his brains out if he wanted to, because they were safe inside. Well, if you’re in a straw house, afraid of every threat of the devil, I feel sorry for you.  You’re in the wrong house.  That isn’t God’s will for you.  And if you’re in a wood house, you know what I mean, kind of confident because you’ve heard someone else tell you God is Almighty, but you haven’t experienced Him for yourself, then you’re not much better off.  You’re still not in the safe place.  Only if your house is built on the rock, can you stand unafraid. 

    I’m not talking about a fairy tale and being in the brick house unafraid with the Three Pigs, or Larry, Curley, and Moe, or the Three Musketeers, for that matter.  I’m talking about being in the house with the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost.  And if YOU are dwelling in the secret place of the Most High, then who do you think is dwelling in His house there with you???  Right!  The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. 

    Do you think those God is afraid of the devil, or some people doing witchcraft?  You gotta be kidding me, Mon!  Yet so many of God’s children, supposedly abiding under the shadow of the Almighty are afraid of every shadow they see!  This should not be.   God’s people need to get an image in their heart of who they are, where they are, and who is casting His shadow upon them.  I think now is a good time to convey that to you.  What better way to start off a new year, than in a place of victory?

      All too many people I talk to are in fear of the devil and what he thinks he can do to them.  Oh, the devil is on the loose!  He’s doing such and such to people.  That isn’t victory, friends.  That’s running scared.  And that is NOT in your job description, because God has NOT given you a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.  Remember??  I don’t care what the devil wants to do.  He’s not my boss, and he isn’t yours!   Whoopee Doo!  He’s like a mutt on a leash, and he can only go as far as we give him leash, or our heavenly Father does.  And when he reaches the end of his chain, Hey, that’s all folks!  He can growl, bark, yap his head off,  and yank on the chain all he wants, but that’s as far as he goes.  He goes then from being a threat to merely a noisy pest.

     We go about singing “The devil’s under my feet”, but I wonder how many truly believe that?  Well, if you’re abiding under the shadow of the almighty, you do, AND you know you’re not going to be “afraid for the terror by night, nor for the arrow that flieth by day, nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness, nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.”  Period. Your house is built on the Rock.

    But what if you’re still walking in fear?  What if everything that goes “bump” in the night frightens you?  I know not all men know the Lord, nor the power of His love and protection.  And I’m not putting you down for it.  We all come to God as babies.  We don’t know how to do much else other than eat, drink, cry, and fill diapers.  That’s why God puts those of us in the Body to encourage and teach, so we may ALL come in the unity of the knowledge of Christ Jesus.  You may be experiencing a terrible battle for your health, or for your marriage, or for your finances, or for your peace and joy.  Or maybe your child won’t come home, or a family member is addicted to something.  Whatever it is, the first thing you need to know…Jesus isn’t going to win the battle for you.  Nope….He isn’t going to….HE ALREADY HAS!  Facing battles is always easier when you know you’re on the winning side.

You may be thinking, it’s a New Year, and a chance to have a fresh start.  Instead of hoping things will be better this year, why not LOOK UP ^ and see who is casting that shadow you’re supposed to be abiding under. Then look down to make sure you’re under it.  If you’re not, Hey, come on in….there’s room for you under the Shadow!!