Spending
time
in
rural
Oxfordshire,
where
the
weather
has
turned
autumnal
and
chilly,
I
recall
the
heat
of
Spain
as
a
distant
memory.
Given
that
I
don't
do
heat,
the
change
is
not
altogether
unwelcome.
I
ponder
the
subject
of
protection
– protection
from
heat
and
protection
from
storms.
I
noticed
that,
given
the
choice,
the
Spanish
when
out
walking
keep
to
whichever
pavement
is
in
the
shade
at
any
given
time.
Places
shaded
from
direct
sunlight
are
appreciably
cooler
than
those
that
aren't.
We
in
the
UK
are
more
likely
to
shun
the
shade
as
bringing
a
chill
into
our
lives.
Yet
for
someone
from
a
hot
climate
it
plays
an
important
role
in
sheltering
them
from
the
pitiless
and
unremitting
rays
of
the
sun.
Although
in
this
country
we
know
little
of
weather
which
is
unremitting
and
intense
(even
though
periods
of
heavy
rain
seem
close
to
that
description),
many
know
trials
and
troubles
that
are
a
daily
pressure
in
their
lives.
Every
morning
they
wake
up
only
to
find
themselves
living
that
day
with
some
stark
reality
that
never
goes
away.
It
may
be
a
violent
death
in
the
family
or
a
disabling
personal
injury.
It
may
be
the
knowledge
that
someone
in
their
home
has
been
abusive
or
manipulative
towards
them,
and
they
fear
each
new
day
may
bring
further
disquieting
incidents.
It
may
be
a
heavy
responsibility
that
is
a
daily
strggle
to
fulfil,
like
a
daily
increasing
debt
to
a
moneylender.
If
freedom in the Lord Jesus is to mean anything to a person thus
trapped, it needs to include shelter and shade from the relentless
daily pressure of these things. This is true even if the problems
themselves cannot simply be caused to vanish overnight. It will mean
that quality of befriending where a Christian friend comes alongside
to give companionship and a listening ear at least. Then maybe
professional help can be found – legal maybe, or medical or
financial – that can actually tackle the problem at root.
I’ve
been
impressed
lately
by
the
way
a
Christian
money
advice
organisation,
Christians
Against
Poverty
(CAP)
works
in
my
locality.
Debt coaches and
befrienders
arrange
for
practical
advice
and
help
to
be
given
and,
without
preaching
or
pressure,
look
for
ways
in
which
they
may
gently
introduce
clients
to
the
spiritual
freedom
that
comes
of
knowing
Christ
and
being
part
of
His
people.
In
Psalm
23
the
psalm-writer
famously
speaks
of
the
"shadow
of
death"
through
which
God
will
lead
him.
Even
though
I
walk
through
the
valley
of
the
shadow
of
death,
I
will
fear
no
evil,
for
you
are
with
me;
your
rod
and
your
staff,
they
comfort
me.
(Psalm
23:4
ESV)
God
is to the believer a benign type of shade:
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
121:5-6)
The
prophet
Isaiah
predicted
that
one
day
a
righteous
King-Messiah
would
rule
over
God’s
people
and
be
to
them
like
shelter
and
shade:
Behold,
a
king
will
reign
in
righteousness,
and
princes
will
rule
in
justice.
Each
will
be
like
a
hiding
place
from
the
wind,
a
shelter
from
the
storm,
like
streams
of
water
in
a
dry
place,
like
the
shade
of
a
great
rock
in
a
weary
land.
(Isaiah
32:1-2)
May
thousands more who are trapped in vicious circles of their own or
others’ making come to sing like the hymn-writer
The
Lord’s our Rock, in Him we hide,
a
shelter in the time of storm.
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