Psalm 91: The Whisper

In the Bible, there's a story of Samuel and David. Samuel is grieving over Saul who had just been rejected as king over Israel. The Lord asks Samuel, 'How long are you going to grieve?" and then he commands him, "Fill your horn with oil and set out." This brings him to the home of Jesse who had several sons. When Samuel realized that David, Jesse' youngest, was to be the next king, Samuel anoints him with oil in front of his brothers and whispers in his ear that he had been chosen to lead.

I love the quietness of this particular scene. I've been working on a portrait of David and on a larger collage based on David's life, but I stopped and started working on this smaller piece based on the first verse of Psalm 91. "He who dwells in the shelter of the most high will abide in the shadow of the Almighty."

Though we know that David goes on to slay giants, dance wildly and unashamed in worship, lament emotionally, run for his life from Saul, screw up so royally that he had another man murdered so he could have his wife, Bathsheba, there is always this very first moment where David kneels and a call is whispered to him.

Painting the letters of this scripture meticulously amidst my first years of marriage and home renovations allowed me to slow down.

My pastor while I lived in Indianapolis once said that the shadow of God is light.

It's been a concept that I can't always wrap my mind around but I can't drop it either. If we dwell (or rest) in the shelter (love) of the most high, we are abiding (or being obedient) in the shadow (light) of the Almighty (king).

For me, these words have brought me peace.