“The Lord watches over you – the Lord is your shade at your right hand;” (Psalm 121:3 NIV)
My pastor preached on Psalm 121 yesterday. It’s long been a favorite of mine. Yesterday, though, this phrase caught my attention, “shade at your right hand.” What does this mean? Why the right hand?
The right hand appears to be a place of favor and absolute trust. It’s also typically our working hand, the hand that gets things done. Shade at the right hand implies an elective shelter, a choice to take refuge in our Savior. God doesn’t force Himself on us, yet the shelter we seek is as near as our right hand. The thing is, we’ve got to let go of our striving in order to step into the restful shade that God offers.
The theme of this psalm solidifies: our help comes from the Lord. When I think of biblical shade or shelter, I think of the Feast of Booths or the Feast of Shelters, also called the Feast of Tabernacles or Ingathering. It was a week long celebration where the families of Israel moved out-of-doors. They built make-shift lean-tos out of palm branches and poles and the entire family would participate in a national camping adventure. Why? The Feast of Shelters was a season of thanksgiving, God’s people expressed gratitude for all God had provided in the harvest. I suppose it also reminded them of their ancestral wilderness journey and maybe, too, the temporary nature of our earthly sojourn. It likely solidified their understanding of human reliance on a benevolent God: He is ultimately our shelter in all seasons.
Much of the nation is sheltering in place. Maybe even much of the world. We are staying home and staying safe. We are indoors and socially distant for at least another month. What a time to remind ourselves of God’s nearness, goodness and our utter dependance! He is the shade at our right hand – the place we can run into at will. He is so close, yet some of us have lived so far from the intimacy He longs for. It’s intimacy He freely offers and intimacy that we spend our lives in pursuit of.
Don’t just hole up at home this next month. Hole up in Him. Realize He is as close and as real as your right hand: ready to provide shade over your life, your heart. We can sit under the canopy of His love with quiet assurance; content and contained in Him.
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble.” (Psalm 46:1 NIV)
Lord, we look to You today, as near as our right hand. We are grateful for Your presence, protection and provision. We climb under the shade of Your love today, confident in Your affection for us. Amen.