Psalms 91:1, 2 (NIV) – Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
We live in a troubled and dangerous world. Watch the tv news, listen to radio news, read the newspaper, browse news through the internet. What would you find? This generation lives in fear… global pandemic, dreadful diseases that claim many lives, all kinds of accidents, murder here and there, robberies, terrorists, wars, calamities (drought, famine, typhoons, flooding, earthquakes). A question comes to our mind: “Can a Christian be protected through these turbulent times?” The answer is definitely yes. Psalm 91 is God’s umbrella of protection.
Our heavenly Father has a secret place (shelter) in His arms that protects us from the storms raging in the world around us. This shelter is literal but is also conditional. The Psalmist lists our part of the conditions before the promises are mentioned. In order to rest in the shadow of the Almighty, we must choose to dwell in the shelter of the Most High (v. 1).
How do we dwell in the security and shelter of the Most High? It is more than an intellectual experience. It is a dwelling place where we can be physically protected if we run to Him. We may utterly believe that God is our shelter, we may even mention it in our prayer time, we may teach about it in our Sabbath School lessons, we may even get a warm feeling every time we think about it, but unless we do something about it, unless we actually get up and run to the shelter, we may never experience it. This shelter is the intimacy and familiarity of the presence of God Himself. It is a relationship with the Father that you have cultivated and developed by investing enough time into it to make it very personal and intimate.
Notice the phrase “I will say” in verse 2. This tells us that we must verbalize our trust. There is power in saying God’s word back to Him. “Lord, You are my refuge, You are my fortress, You are my God! It is in You that I put my total trust.” We are not told to just think the Word. We are told to say the Word. The more we say it out loud, the more confident we become in His protection.
It is impossible to protect yourself from all the bad things that can happen. You could go to the doctor once a month for a checkup and follow a healthy lifestyle. You could double-check your car to see that everything is in good running order before you travel. You could have surveillance cameras in your house. You could store up food for a time of need. These precautions are not wrong. Yet we still couldn’t do enough to protect ourselves from every potential danger.
God is saying to us, “I want you to see Me as the source of your protection. I want you to rest in the shadow of My mighty arms.” But remember our part of this protection covenant expressed in verses 1 and 2 of Psalm 91: He who dwells and he who says. This releases His power to bring about the promises recorded in His word.