Scripture:
- Psalms 91:1
- Matthew 17:5
NIV:
“Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.”
NKJV:
“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.”
Scripture Breakdown:
- Whoever: Any person who.
- Dwells: To live or reside.
- In the shelter/secret place of the Most High
Explanation – The Word:
The secret place can be a place of hiding that no one, other than the secret keeper, will know. From this aspect, we can look at it in the context of the scripture as “protection.” The Lord is inciting us to live in His secret place of hiding for protection — a place where no one will know, but Him only.
We can refer to the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve were at a place where only God and Adam knew. This place must have been the common place of meeting for the two of them. In this posture, Adam was free to be himself. He could think what he wanted to think, talk to God, and he was a free man.
We can lean on God the same way in this scripture. Using God as our shelter and secret place, we can be free in Him. For us, this means if we go hide in God, we can be free from fear, stress, etc. The devil’s aim would be to remove us from the secret place. Once out of the secret place, then all negating feelings begin to creep in.
Bible versions, specifically the NIV and NKJV, interchange the words “secret place” and “shelter.” We will speak on that shortly.
A Second Interpretation:
A second interpretation of the secret place can be as follows: the place where one keeps our secrets, which is our hearts. So, in other words, whoever dwells in the heart of the Lord… the rest of the verse follows. What else do we know that lies in the heart of the Lord? The answer is love.
Now we know that our God loves His Son Jesus with all His heart. For reference, we can look at Matthew 17:5. We are going to get back to that in a minute.
Therefore, with this interpretation, God is telling us that whoever dwells in His heart or love — and ultimately His Son, Jesus — will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. The goal is to focus on Jesus and remain in Him (see John 15:1–5).
“Will Rest”: What Does That Mean?
A second definition of rest is to lie or lean on something for support. It also means a posture of relaxation. To lie in or rest on something, we need to be very close to it, leading to the next point.
“In the Shadow of the Almighty”
The last portion of this verse: A shadow of something is created when it is above you and receiving a direct source of light. In extension to the above, to be in the shadow — you need to be very close to the object or the structure.
So our great takeaway of today is, we need to be very close to the Lord our God. We ought to take refuge in the Lord. When in His shelter, we are free to be ourselves.
Just to add a crazy analogy — when Adam was in the Garden of Eden and needed to relieve himself, he would do it in the presence of the Lord. What this is trying to say is that when we dwell in the secret place, we can be ourselves and not be defined by our mistakes, errors or flaws. It is only then that God has the opportunity to truly transform our hearts.
Returning to Matthew 17:5
The Bible says:
“While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!'”
Notice that before a voice came out, a cloud had to cover them, providing shelter and a secret place. Only then was the voice of God audible. He reveals to us His beloved Son, Jesus, and tells us what to do in order to remain in this dwelling place. God says, “Listen to Him.”
We need to listen to Jesus, which is one very good way to grow as a Christian and increase prosperity in your faith life.
How Do We Listen to Jesus?
It is very simple — read the Bible. Go through the Gospels and see what Jesus did.
If none of the above was enough, the very first thing that Jesus tells the disciples after the glorious encounter is: “Get up. Do not be afraid.”
In Summary:
Jesus Christ is the shelter God speaks about in Psalms 91. And since we are on the topic of protection, remember that Jesus Christ, in His transfigured form, told the disciples not to be afraid.