Last week, I preached from the last few verses of Isaiah 40 and I talked about how God gives us strength when (not if, but the many times in life when) we grow weary. And it’s funny how sometimes when you preach on something, it keeps popping up during the week; or vice versa–something keeps popping up during the week and so you preach on it.
And this past week, it seemed like God’s strength was a constant reminder during the week. And so I was trying to think of what to preach on this week, and with that keep popping up and being in my mind, I’m going to kind of branch off of that idea this morning. If you have your Bibles, please turn with me to Psalm 91.
I’ve found that our scripture verse this morning contains seven promises from God for us when we face trouble and uncertainty. Before we read our Psalm, let’s first take a look at those seven promises:
- “I will rescue him…” (deliver, cause to escape)
- “I will protect him…” (set him on a high place)
- “I will answer him…” (respond to, speak)
- “I will be with him in trouble…” (in afflictions, in distress)
- (Repeat of the first one) “I will deliver him…” (rescue, to bring into safety)
- “and honor him…” (to make rich, strong, heavy with honor)
- “With long life will I satisfy him…” (to have abundance in the journey)
- “and show him my salvation.” (let him see my deliverance and victory)
Today, I’m just going to delve into one of those promises. The promise of protection.
So, let’s go to our scripture this morning. We’ll read all of Psalm 91
Scripture:
Psalm 91
1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
3 Surely he will save you
from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5 You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
8 You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.
9 If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”
and you make the Most High your dwelling,
10 no harm will overtake you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
12 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
14 “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call on me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.”
That’s a rather lengthy passage, but like I said, I want to emphasize God’s promise of protection. But His protection has a caveat or a disclaimer. As you read this, you’ll notice that His protection over us is in accordance with our relationship with Him.
I do want to make another statement before I get too far. We know that tragedy hits both believers and non-believers. If you remember the story of the Pennsylvania flight on September 11, Todd Beamer who was famous for having attempted to take over the hijackers on flight 93, and you’ll remember his famous words, “Let’s Roll.”
Todd Beamer was a Christian. He was a graduate of Wheaton Christian High School and Wheaton College, the alma mater of Billy Graham.
Using an Airfone, attached to the back of a headrest on a seat, Beamer simply dialed 0 and was connected to Lisa Jefferson, a supervisor at the time at the Verizon Airfone Call Center in west suburban Oak Brook, Ill.
In 2006, Jefferson and former WBBM anchor Felicia Middlebrooks wrote a book about that day, Called. Jefferson wrote about how Todd Beamer “sounded so tranquil it made me begin to doubt the authenticity and urgency of the call.”
See, he too, had a calm assurance literally in the midst of it all.
Sept. 11 is a perfect example of how sometimes tragedy strikes the believer as well as the unbeliever. This Psalm, and other psalms like it are not a blanket statement for all believers in every situation at all times. Paul underwent a tremendous amount of hardships and persecution. Today, many Christians all over the world endure persecution, the headline of an article from Newsweek that was published a few years ago titled, “Christian persecution and genocide is worse now than any time in History, report says.”
I mentioned before how deadly fires, earthquakes, and tornadoes will hit an entire community, and the homes of Christians will be consumed in the disaster as much as anyone else. And I think that God has reasons for letting those things happen, and I can’t answer every single reason for every single circumstance, but basically, there are times when it’s just plain fair to go through what everyone else goes through. And like I’ve said before, could you imagine just how spoiled rotten and utterly useless we would be as a light to the world if we didn’t endure suffering as everyone else?
Tragedy actually helps make us better people. It humbles us and helps us to be more mature in Christ. It causes us to have a softer heart toward others when we go through something that others go through.
Desiring God puts it this way: “First hand experience in suffering is essential in equipping us for ministry. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians that God “comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”
And I could go on and on with a whole other sermon on this topic, and I’ve raised this point before, but today, as we delve into this scripture, I’d rather focus on the times, like we discussed last week where God provides a spiritual uplift above a storm as he does with eagles, and allows us to soar above the storm.
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus said: “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock.”
CBN.com said: “The Lord makes it clear in this passage that the storm is not the issue — the storm will come. Where a person builds his or her house is the issue. If your house is built on the rock of Jesus Christ, then even when the storms blow, your house will stand. Even in the midst of tragedy, you will not be destroyed.”
That’s why Todd Beamer had a calm resolve in the midst of what was happening around him.
The storm still comes, but God gives us those thermals as I talked about last week with the eagle or a hot air balloon or those gliders at Harris Hill. We’re lifted above the storm. And like our house being built on a solid foundation, we are not overcome in our spirit by the storm.
Let’s take a look at the Psalm again. Going back to verses 1-4:
1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
3 Surely he will save you
from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
Charles Spurgeon said: “Every child of God looks towards the inner sanctuary and the mercy seat, yet all do not dwell in the most holy place; they run to it at times, and enjoy occasional approaches, but they do not habitually reside in the mysterious presence.”
The person whose house is built on the rock had to intentionally decide to, then actually build that house on that rock.
Safety and security under the wings of God are a position that we have to take. Dwelling in the shadow, the shelter, or the secret place of the Most High is a verb, an action, that we must take, a place we must intentionally pursue. It doesn’t just happen because we’re Christians or we go to church. We still have to make a decision to go to God. He’s always there, but we have to find our refuge in him, not go about worrying.
I have to admit, I’ve had times of anxiety lately. Over the course of the past several months, as I’ve had personal issues, I’ve had to deal with a level of anxiety I have never had before. On multiple occasions–which is why you’ll find my name in the prayer list. We pastors deal with life’s issues too. And the devil loves to attack pastors.
During those times, I’ve reached out to God, and God doesn’t always immediately bring me comfort. Sometimes I’ll have to go through whatever brings me anxiety and then he’ll say, “See, it wasn’t so bad. I was right there with you all along.”
I found an anonymous quote that says, “When God pushes you to the edge of difficulty, trust him fully because two things can happen: either He’ll catch you when you fall or [like the message last week] He will teach you how to fly.”
Another quote I found said, “You have been assigned this mountain to show others that it can be moved.”
Other times, God doesn’t move the mountain but provides a way for us to climb it. I’m reminded of another Psalm–Psalm 18. It, being a psalm or song, has a lot of great poetic imagery and I’m going to highlight some of it to you.
- In verses 1-2: David says that the Lord is my: Strength; Rock; Fortress; Deliverer; Refuge; Shield; The horn of my salvation [as in an animal’s horn, meaning the power or efficacy–He is our salvation]; Stronghold
- V. 3 – 18: God powerfully rescues us from every enemy and situation. Even death!
- V. 19 – [I love this] God rescued me because He delighted in me.
- V. 32 – God arms me with strength.
- V. 33 – God enables me to stand on the heights [again a reference to climbing a mountain rather than moving it]
- V. 35b – “You stoop down to make me great.” [He comes down to our level and walks beside us]
- V. 36 – “You broaden the path beneath me so that my ankles do not turn.” [Think of those steep, narrow mountains in the Middle East that goats can traverse up and down, but not us. So what does God do in a metaphoric sense? The Lord broadens our path as we climb that mountain so that we can move and advance safely].
Then what? Going back to Psalm 91, beginning with verse 9:
9 If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”
and you make the Most High your dwelling,
10 no harm will overtake you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
12 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
14 “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call on me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.”
Do you remember the ‘if/then’ statements in math? We quite often have those in our Bibles too: If you say, and if you make, then what? Then God acts on our behalf.
“Because He Loves Me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue Him.”
Same as what I just read in Psalm 18: “He brought me out into a spacious place;
He rescued me because he delighted in me.” Isn’t it a wonderful thought that God delights in us? We get so focused on missing the mark that we don’t realize that God actually delights in us.
Here’s one from Proverbs 18. Verse 10 says, “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.”
You notice it says, “the righteous.” This is where it gets politically incorrect. But remember, God rescues us because he delights in us. God has a special kind of provision for His people. And when you think about it, it makes sense. Those YouTube videos where I watch the debates between the Christian and the atheist–the atheist can’t understand why God makes special provisions for just ‘His’ people. But when you think about it, it makes sense that he would.
Again, not politically correct, but theologically correct.
And even that is not an obligation on God’s part. It isn’t that he has to or is obligated to, God wants to shelter you. He wants to protect you. Or like we talked about with the soaring eagle, He wants to lift you up above the storm and give you strength. He wants to give you the kind of strength and the kind of shelter as a house built on a rock.
Yes, the storms will come. And it won’t always be easy. But God promises that He is our fortress just as much as He is our salvation. Think of a lighthouse in the midst of a storm that rages. The lighthouse stands still and strong.
Again, not to be politically incorrect, but sheltering in Him relies on our coming to Him as our shelter. You’ve got to go to a shelter if you want to be sheltered, right? There is a relational aspect with Him–coming to Him to receive the shelter that He offers.
My question for you today is, have you made God your refuge, your strong lighthouse in the raging sea or have you been standing in the storm of worry and doubt?
How many times has God come through for you in ways that you know, it’s only God? A shelter, a provider, a comfort, a rescuer in the midst of a storm. He’s done it before and He’ll do it again and again and again. God is faithful.
This is an updated edition of a post originally published on First Baptist Church of Watkins Glen
Featured Image by Siggy Nowak from Pixaba
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