What's the most restful you ever feel? Is there that place that you can put your feet up, pour a favorite beverage, spread out, and just feel complete and utter peace? Maybe beside a misty morning lake, hot coffee mug in hand, watching the sunrise over dreamlike bluish-purple mountains?
Psalm 91 verse 1 tells us what that place was for the psalmist, that it was in God himself. Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. Rest. A requirement for body, soul, and mind, yet, ironically, one of those most valuable things in life that can't be bought. Rest comes from feeling safe, secure. And the psalmist puts it in this term, whoever dwells in the shelter of the most high, finds rest. It's like coming in from a battle and that heavy door slams behind you.
You're safe. You're secure. No arrows can hit you. You can take your armor off. You can rest. Resting in the shadow of the Almighty, the psalmist declares in verse 2,
“I will say of the Lord. He is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust.” (Psalm 91:2)
Surely, he will save you from the Fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence. Fowler's snare, deadly poison, hidden dangers that I can't possibly see, but God can.
Surely, he will save you. Those who have God as their refuge can be confident that although there are plenty of dangers that they can't see on a daily basis, there's nothing that escapes the notice of their protector, their God. Verse four,
“He will cover you with his feathers and under his wings, you will find refuge.His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.” (Psalm 91:4)
His faithfulness will be your protection. Powerful stuff there. A shield, something to hide behind. A rampart, something to lift you up above it all. We all struggle from time to time with an area that we're having difficulty trusting God with. Do you have an area like that, where you're struggling with your faith, wondering if He's faithful, if He's going to be there for you? Verse 5 tells us we've been given 24-hour care.
“You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.” (Psalm 91:5-6)
That's round the clock security, day and night. These are the things that are used in warfare, by the way. When a city is besieged, the enemy might use arrows, but also the weapons of fear and terror, through propaganda, and even disease. Secure within the fortress, you have nothing to fear. As Winston Churchill said to the British public during World War II, we have nothing to fear but fear itself.
With that warfare mentality, the psalmist continues by taking us right onto the battlefield, where we're swinging a sword, dodging arrows. Verse 7.
“A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.” (Psalm 91:7).
King David knew this personally. He would watch people on his right and his left drop like flies. Yet, David would remain untouched, miraculously, God shielding him from danger. Even if you and I lack this confidence, Satan knows it very well about you. So let's pick up the thread to see what we often forget, but Satan never does.
No disaster will come near your tent, for he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. They will lift up their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. If those last two verses sound familiar, that's because Satan nearly quoted it verbatim to Jesus. Note that I said nearly. Ever the twister of Scripture, Satan misquotes this from the top of the temple, when he's telling Jesus to jump down. “If you are the Son of God, he said, throw yourself down, for is it not also written? He will command his angels concerning you to lift up their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone” (Matthew 4:6).
Well Hard to argue if you don't actually know the scripture, but Jesus knew it Well after all he wrote it he knew that Satan left out the phrase in verse 11 “in all your ways.” And that little phrase makes all the difference. So, this wasn't a throw yourself off of cliffs kind of scripture. This was a trust God in your everyday life kind of scripture. Satan misquotes this verse to get Jesus to test God. All that it would prove if anyone jumped off of the temple wasn't whether or not God was faithful, it was whether or not they were really stupid.
But the scripture isn't done telling us we have reason to trust in verse 13.
“You will tread on the lion and the cobra. You will trample the great lion and the serpent.” (Psalm 91:13).
Again, I have to pause here and talk about the snake handlers. You know I do. Let's just put it in the stupid things people do like jumping off cliffs category. There are a group of people who have taken to holding rattlesnakes while they worship to prove how much faith in God they have. They're a small number of people and their numbers keep shrinking due to poisonous snake bites. I know you're shocked, but they needed the phrase “in all your ways” and also to respond to Satan's temptation to see if they really trust God with “do not test the Lord your God.” So, don't go buying any lions to tramp or snakes to cuddle any time soon, okay? Just trust Him every day, in your everyday life, seriously.
But now, we come to a precious verse where it's not people speaking, or even Satan misspeaking. In verse 14, God Himself speaks.
“Because He loves me, says the Lord. I will rescue him; I will protect him for he acknowledges my name. He will call on me and I will answer him. I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.” (Psalm 91:14-16).
If you've ever wondered what God really wants from you, it's your love. Trust is a part of love. I Do the small trust part, and God does the heavy lifting part. Because He trusts me, I will rescue Him. I will protect Him, for He acknowledges my name. That means simply looking up to God, right where you are and saying, God. This is tough. I'm placing all of this in your hands because I'm not strong or smart enough to handle this and trying to would just be foolish verse 15
“He will call on me and I will answer him.” (Psalm 91:15).
So, God says if we call, he answers It might not be a verbal answer. For example, you might say hey God I don't know what to do and rather than a voice from heaven telling you where to go You might find circumstances changing behind the scenes as you go in all your ways remember Conversations and situations that God is aligning in your favor in other words God's answer might simply be to line things up.
I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver and honor him if I simply know that God is with me That's enough. It's like having my dad there His strength it's going to be okay because my dad's here. I don't have to worry. I can just trust this isn't just a one-day thing. This becomes a lifestyle thing that becomes a life and that life, well, it lasts for a lifetime. Verse16
“With long life, I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.” (Psalm 91:16).
Life is prolonged deliverance. Certain honor assured. I will show him my salvation. There's a little hint here that God is going to sometimes let you in on the secret, like occasionally he's going to show you a behind the scenes look. Not always, but every once in a while, you'll have a talk with your dad, and he'll tell you what he's been thinking.
He'll instruct you on how to think, how to act, what he was doing. Occasionally God will do that with you. He'll show you, his salvation. How he saved you in that moment when you prayed, and he answered how he delivered you but not always, he won't always tell us and that's a good thing.
There are plenty of things. We probably don't want to know but to God, just trusting Him in our day to day is enough. And that is what He wants us to know.
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