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, ESV)
Near the end of August, generally a time of year in Phoenix that causes the locals to compare the outside temperature unfavorably with the theoretical temperature in hell (it is said to be hotter here), my wife and I were invited to spend a few days in Pinetop, Arizona.
Not only is Pinetop geographically “closer to heaven,” the summer temperatures are much more heavenly. The excuse for the invitation was a member/guest tournament at Pinetop Country Club. My friend, brother, and Links Player Brian and his wife Donna are members there. Good friends, good weather, golf? Yes!
Brian was thinking a little bit about getting me out of the heat, but in no small part he hoped I would bring the heat on the golf course. I thought that meant he wanted me to shoot 100 or more, but it turns out I misunderstood.
Still, we had a lot of fun, enjoyed our time together, and even planted the seeds for a Links Fellowship. Every hole on the course had hundreds of pine trees, and I noticed that some of those had green and yellow signs on them. One is pictured here.
I asked Brian what that was all about, but God thought I was asking him. Just as Brian was explaining that many people who live on the course allow golfers to seek shelter on their back deck, the automatic lightning detector siren sounded.
Of course I knew I had to write about this, but what Scripture would I use? The only instance of “safe shelter” in the ESV is in Exodus 9:19. I’m sure that in the 21 years of the Links Daily Devotional, no one has used that verse.
But the lesson for me wasn’t quite so literal, though the sign was. My thought on seeing the sign was simple: The Lord is my shelter in the time of storm.
Not to push this illustration too far, but signs from God are all around us that he will take us in, that he is there for us when troubles come.
That day we experienced lightning and heavy rain on the course, and we sought shelter. Before long there were at least a dozen of us on some fellow’s back porch, including him. He gave us food and drinks while we waited.
When God shelters us, he too is there with us. He doesn’t just cover us, he cares for us.
So in the day of trouble, head for safe shelter. No golf cart is needed, because it is only a prayer away.
—
Lewis Greer
September 13, 2021
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The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.