Image of a ship's anchor on the sea floor

Day

32

A Shelter from the Storm

Lent 2019

For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock.

Psalm 27:5

Every other summer I take a bunch of unweathered Las Vegas kids to the Boundary Waters in Northern Minnesota. One year during our trip a huge storm was blowing across the wilderness. The rains were pouring down, and the winds were blowing strong. In anticipation of this storm, we made sure that we had prepared our campsite and shelter for the worst. The tents were staked and tied, the kitchen was covered with tarps, and our canoes were anchored on shore to the trees. We also made sure to carefully select a campsite high upon the bank to make sure that we were protected from the billows of the stormy lake.

In Psalm 27 David is praising the Lord for being his stronghold. In verse 1, The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? David was anchored in the assurance of God’s promises of salvation, and because of that he had courage and bravery in his faith. God’s promises are real, and under even the worst of circumstances He will not waver from them. David proclaims that in verse 5 when he said, For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock.

As the storm crossed our path in the Boundary Waters, our preparation was still not perfect. A tent pole snapped, some of our kitchen flooded, and a knot wiggled loose and a canoe blew down the shoreline. As sinners we cannot fully prepare for the storms of this life on our own. As we prepare and look forward to the resurrection of our Lord, we can be assured, no matter what storms may come our way, of the promises of salvation he gave us in our Baptism when He says in Mark 16:16, Whoever believes and is baptized shall be saved. Therefore, no matter what storms this world throws at us, we can be assured in the promises of salvation that God grants us.

Jonathan Orr
Faith Lutheran Middle School & High School
Director of Innovation and Continuous Improvement

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