Shadow of the Almighty

Psalm 91:11
Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest
in the shadow of the Almighty.

In two of her books, Through Gates of Splendor and
The Shadow of the Almighty, Elisabeth Elliot tells the story
of five American missionaries, including her husband, Jim, who
were martyred in the jungles of Equador in 1956. The title of
the second book was clearly taken from Psalm 91, which the
five young men took very seriously as they embarked on the
hazardous task of making contact with the primitive Auca
people.

After a number of promising contacts with the Indians through
an ingenious method of lowering buckets of gifts from a plane
tightly circling over the village, the men landed on a strip of sand
on a jungle riverbank and awaited the arrival of their new "friends."
But the missionaries were cruelly murdered and their bodies left
in the muddy waters of the river.

Whatever natural fears the young men may have had, they were
undoubtedly allayed by the words, "Do not be afraid of the terrors
of the night, nor fear the dangers of the day, nor dread the plague
that stalks in darkness, nor the disaster that strikes at midday"
(Ps. 91:5-6). Whatever reservations they may have entertained,
they presumably took great comfort in the words "If you make
the Lord your refuge, and you make the Most High your shelter,
no evil will conquer you" (91:9-10). And yet the reality is that
these trusting young men were speared to death within days of
their arrival in Auca territory.

We don’t know how much warning—if any—the missionaries
had of the impending attack, but they had hung their hearts over
the words, "The Lord says, ‘I will rescue those who love me.
I will protect those who trust in my name. When they call on me,
I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue them
and honor them’" (91:14-15).

The obvious question on the minds of many at the time of the
tragedy—and in succeeding years—was, "What went wrong?"
Did God’s promises not stand up under the weight of trust put
in him? Did God renege on his commitment to the safety of his
young servants? Had they misread or misinterpreted the
Scriptures?

And the answer, although hard to find, is surely that the Lord
did "rescue them" from their earthly pain and "honor them" in his
immediate presence. Ever since their deaths, they’ve enjoyed
his promise to "satisfy them with a long life"—as long as eternity
—"and give them [his] salvation" (91:15-16). Truly they found
"rest in the shadow of the Almighty" (91:1).

Faith takes the long view—God’s shadow is a long shadow.

Stuart Briscoe
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The Lord Jesus is our hope, our solace, our glory,
our victory, all found in the blood of the Lamb,
to whom be all glory and honor forever. Amen.
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of mercies and God of all comfort ... " 2 Cor. 1:3