Psalm 91
Safety of Abiding in the Presence of God
1He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust.”
3 Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler
And from the perilous pestilence.
4 He shall cover you with His feathers,
And under His wings you shall take refuge;
His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
5 You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,
Nor of the arrow that flies by day,
6 Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,
Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
And ten thousand at your right hand;
But it shall not come near you.
8 Only with your eyes shall you look,
And see the reward of the wicked.
9 Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge,
Even the Most High, your dwelling place,
10 No evil shall befall you,
Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;
11 For He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you in all your ways.
12 In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.
13 You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra,
The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.
14 “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will set him on high, because he has known My name.
15 He shall call upon 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.”
Were you to ask me my favorite passage of scripture, I don’t know that I could give you a solid answer. God’s word is an abundance of wisdom and encouragement, of instruction and guidance, all of it applicable to so many facets of our lives. And I can say that large portions of both the old and new testament stand out as “favorites” for me.
- Psalm 19
- Psalm 27
- Psalm 103
- Psalm 121
- Psalm 139
- Proverbs 31:10-31
- Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
- Isaiah 5:20-21
- Isaiah 9
- Isaiah 26:3
- Isaiah 40:3-5;26-31
- Isaiah 41:10
- Isaiah 53-55 (there’s so much in those three chapters)
- Isaiah 60-61
And that’s just a small sampling of my top favorites. The list goes on well into the new testament. But when I’m having a moment . . . when I start to feel fear try to overwhelm me, and I struggle to think sensically or to know what or how to pray . . . these words, from Psalm 91, are what come pouring out of my mouth.
I memorized most of it years ago. I say that not to brag . . . I memorized these verses when my oldest was very young . . . out of sheer desperation when I was terrified at the total lack of control I felt at everything going on around us . . . at health struggles that seemed to hit us way too frequently . . . at so much unknown in both life in general and in parenting . . . having kids will do that to a person . . . bring you to your knees in ways you never thought possible.
And now that I’m only a few weeks away from 40, one marriage, two kids, tons of joys and victories but also countless losses, tragedies, crises (ranging from minor to major and personal to worldwide), and a couple pandemics into this whole thing we call life, I lean into these words more than ever. I’ll admit that the H1N1 pandemic way back in 2009 made my heart pound and my head swim so can you imagine what COVID made me feel in those early days??? Maybe that’s not the most faith filled statement ever, but it’s an honest one. I have fought fear for as far back as I can remember, and these words have become integral to how I fight.
I lean into these words when the world around me seems so wildly out of control, and things don’t seem to be getting better but worse on so many fronts. I lean into these words when governments are in uproar, and anger and criticalness and flat out meanness seem to run rampant, not only in the world, but in our churches amongst followers of Christ. I lean into these words when sickness and danger seem way too close.
I pray them over my family and my loved ones daily. I’ve prayed them over my children in both sick and healthy seasons. I’ve prayed them when thousands of miles separated us from our youngest for months on end. I pray them as we set out in four different directions each day. I pray them knowing that my God hears every word. I pray them with the authority of someone who is assured that her big, strong Father is standing behind her ready to fight for her.
On those days when everything seems overwhelming, but also on the days that everything seems pretty normal, I return to these words over and over again.
I dwell in His secret place . . .
I rest in His shadow . . .
He is my shield and my buckler . . .
Copyright 2021, Courtney G Davis, All Rights Reserved The writings and images contained within this site are the intellectual property of this writer unless otherwise noted, and may not be copied or used without express permission of the author.
Courtney's Contemplations . . . 