Psalm 91 is God’s promise to His faithful followers to dwell in safety. Sadly, some misuse this Psalm as a kind of insurance policy. It is true, God has prepared a safe place for His children, but it does not release us of our responsibility to actively remain under His protection.
The principal message of this Psalm is truly about covering. It takes two, the one who covers, and the one who abides. For the ones who abide in Him, they say of the Lord, “He is my refuge, my fortress, my God in Him will I trust”. If we seek our own kingdom, pride renders biblical protection in these stressful and challenging times impossible.
When we have made the Lord our refuge, we do not act like orphans but sons. Esau acted like an orphan and sold his birth right for a morsel of food. The worldly system constantly sets traps to prevent us from abiding under His protection.
We try to fend for ourselves, protect ourselves and we build walls of self-preservation instead of abiding under the shadow of the Almighty who is able to give us full, safe, and complete protection. It is our lack of humility that hinders our growth in trusting Him to cover us under His wings. When we are under siege, our ego looks for other means to shore up our defences.
“He is my refuge,
my fortress, my God
in Him will I trust”
We must not think that the knowledge of Psalm 91 protects us, but it is our relationship with the God of Psalm 91. Our love for God, and Him only, will result in where we find another confirmation of God’s protection in verse 14: “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name”. His name is Lord, Yahweh, “I am that I am”. His name is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe (Proverbs 18:10). Our relationship with our Father is activated by constant prayer and spending time in His Word.
Job lost everything, but he held on, in spite of all the advice he received, to the name of the Lord that encapsulates His nature. The Lord honoured him and replaced not only his fortunes but blessed him with a long life and blessed his family with salvation.
Our heavenly Father loves to dwell among us and provide a covering for us to abide under. He wants us to trust him fully in 2020 and be our hiding place, come what may.
Make God your hiding place!
