Last week, I talked about being sheltered in God’s secret place, a place of spiritual safety. 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[b] 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 as 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. In a case like 9/11, we know that the tragedy hit both believers and non-believers. If you remember the story of the Pennsylvania flight, Todd Beamer, who was famous for having attempted to take over the hijackers on flight 93, 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,” published by an arm of the Moody Bible Institute. 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. And I can’t help but wonder if this was his “born for such a time as this” moment.
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, in fact, I’ve mentioned this before, the headline of an article from Newsweek that was published a couple of years ago titled, “Christian persecution and genocide is worse now than any time in History, report says.”
I mentioned before how deadly fires and earthquakes, and tornadoes will hit an entire community, and 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 everything went our way?
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 shelter in a storm. So let’s go back and discuss that shelter of protection.
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.
Last week was Dansville’s 41st annual balloon festival. The storm still comes, but God gives us those thermals like 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.”
And, like I said, this goes along with my sermon last week. 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 or the shelter or the secret place of the most high is a verb, an action, that we must take. A place we must pursue.
After we pursue it, then what? Then the promise comes alive. Jump down to 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.”
Notice the action words here: If you say, and if you make, then what? Then God acts on our behalf. It’s an “if/then” statement.
“Because He Loves Me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue Him.”
Some may call this legalistic. With today’s cultural sensitivities, it’s not politically correct to leave people out. We give participation trophies and everyone’s a winner. We have politicians elected who promise to provide all things to all people.
I do want to say that God’s love and grace are available and provided to all people. Jesus died for all people, Jew and Gentile. And in Matthew 5:45, as part of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says God “makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (ESV).
So our verses in Psalms are not contradictory to that; they have a different meaning. Here, the Bible actually tells us that God shelters the people who come to Him. If we stay close to Him, He will protect us from spiritual danger as well. I read this last week from Proverbs 18:10, “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.”
You notice it says, “the righteous.” God’s safety is for His people. He has a special kind of provision for His people.
And it’s not an obligation on God’s part. God wants to shelter you. He wants to protect you. Or, like we talked about with the hot air balloon, 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 there will be times of protection. He is our fortress. Another reference to last week, think of a lighthouse in the midst of a storm that rages. The lighthouse stands still and strong.
But The Bible says time and again that our trust in Him and our shelter in Him relies on our coming to Him. It is directly related to our relationship with Him.
My question for you today is, have you made God your refuge, or have you just been relying on yourself? Is He your strong tower, your strong lighthouse in the raging sea, or have you lived a life of worry and doubt?
One of Evelyn’s majors, I think, is still equestrian. I know she’s taking lessons there and is on the equestrian team. And they had requirements as to what kind of helmet she had to wear. Very specific, down to the name brand.
Well, we couldn’t find it up here. And it was stressing both Diana and Evelyn out because here we were taking her to school without this particular helmet. Before we left, Diana was telling one of her girlfriends about it, who said, “Have you prayed about it?”
And you know what, after Diana prayed about it, things worked out. We found the right helmet for the right price at a store somewhere on our way to the college.
Then, as you can imagine, taking Evelyn to school took a hit on our finances. Gas prices aren’t cheap. Hotel rooms aren’t cheap. And on top of that, this past couple of weeks, we didn’t get paid what we normally would because, well, we didn’t work for a week. So, we got hit with some financial issues.
Again, Diana was stressed about it, so I took a cue from her girlfriend, and I sent her a text message: “Did you pray about it?” She replied, “Sort of.”
So Diana prayed some more about it. Then, the other day, Diana came home and said we had an unsolicited blessing. A co-worker had a car that didn’t get driven too often, and well, they wanted it driven so that the parts didn’t seize up and so on. So they offered us to use it for as long as we’d like. We’ve been down to one vehicle for months. In fact, we were borrowing Caleb’s car for a couple of months because both of our vehicles were in the shop for a while at the same time.
This co-worker is someone I’ve never met, and she only works in the bakery a couple of days a week. She felt as if Diana and I could use a second vehicle. So she offered it to us out of the blue to use as much as we want for as long as we want.
Now, that’s a big deal. And God sees. 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.
Let’s pray.
Prayer: Lord, I pray that you would draw yourself to those who are here. Call on them, draw them to you. I pray that when the storm comes, that you would shelter us in the storm. Place your wings of love around us and protect us. Give us your peace and protection.
And Lord, wherever we may have or will experience tragedy and disappointment in the storms of life, may we use that experience–as you have promised–to comfort those who need it and draw others to you.
In Jesus’ name, amen.
This is an updated edition of a post originally published on First Baptist Church of Watkins Glen
Featured Image by Didier from Pixabay
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