Jan 28 - Psalm 84:11

The Lord God is a sun and shield.

Psalm 84:11

I’m a minimalist.

I’m a guy.

•      If I go hiking, all I bring is the cloths on my back. No water. No compass. No first aid supplies. I’m not a boy scout.
•      If I go to a football game, all I bring is the cloths on my back. And hopefully I guessed correctly when putting those clothes on my back because I surely didn’t check the weather before leaving home.
•      When I travel, all I bring is the cloths on my back … and cloths for tomorrow’s back too (… plus my toothbrush … and a book … and my computer … and … well, it’s almost worth not going anywhere if I have to keep packing.)

That’s me. Minimalist … or lazy, depending on how you look at it.

So let me confess one thing I do occasionally wish I had – an umbrella.

It’s not because of the rain. (Most times I’d rather be wet than carry an umbrella. I won’t melt.) Rather, the umbrella is for the sun in the summer. If I go, for example, to a long afternoon sporting event on a hot, sunny day, I often wish I had my own portable shade.

In our lesson for day, the Psalmist rejoices that God is our sun and our umbrella (“shield” was his actual word).

Think about what that means. When we go on a trip – say, through this journey of life – God supplies us with all we really need. Most times, we need sun to make things grow. But we occasionally need protection from that sun too, because – as the Psalmist knew well – the Middle Eastern sun could get very hot.

God is our sun and our shield (think umbrella). He is living water. He is also the bread of life. It is his breath that makes us live. He is our shelter and with him, we are never homeless.

He is the perfect God for a minimalist like me. Since he represents the clothes on my back – full armor of God, for example – I don’t need anything for this journey of life, but him …

… and then here’s the great irony … When I seek only him first, everything else that I need will be added to me! (Mt 6:33)

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who won’t pack things

(but will admittedly borrow what you pack)