Seeing God In The Ordinary – part 2

Umbrellas

Seeing God in the Ordinary – Jesus taught us many parables using common items and experiences to teach us His timeless truths.

Umbrellas can remind us He is our covering.

In the Philippines it was normal to carry an umbrella with you all days due to the intensity of the sun and the rains that came:

– an umbrella offers portable shade protection from the sun as well as protection from rain.

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While holding my umbrella I often think of several passages of scripture about God being my covering and my shield:

Psalm 121: 5 – 6 The Lord is your keeper;the Lord is your shade on your right hand.The sun shall not strike you by day,nor the moon by night.

Psalm 91:1-6 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” For He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with His pinions,and under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and buckler. You will not fear the terror of the night,nor the arrow that flies by day,nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.

Umbrellas can remind us that our Refuge and Shelter provides us His protection as we face trials, hardship, and suffering. And in this we can rejoice, knowing that our sufferings produce endurance, and that endurance produces character, and that character produces hope, and that hope does not put us to shame because God’s love is poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us (Romans 5).

Our loving Father tells us to lift our eyes up to the hills, that He is our help and He will not let our feet be moved. He never slumbers and sleeps; He is our keeper and He is our shade! (Psalm 121) He ordains the path I take (Job 23) and as I stay sheltered in Him, in His Word, the storms and heat will not destroy (Psalm 46).

So next time you are using an umbrella, let it be a reminder to you of God’s love, grace and watch-care. He is our covering.