We say we love God, but do we trust Him? Psalm 91 is an anointed psalm and a reminder that when we trust God, He honors and protects us. This Psalm is a poetic masterpiece, but it is much more than poetry. When you become fearful, have doubts, or become insecure, open your Bible to Psalm 91. This psalm is for this present-day generation. It is a message from the Holy Spirit that will comfort you and help you withstand today’s perils. When you love God you will trust God. I pray that this blog will encourage you to trust God to be your refuge in troubled times.
God is Our Refuge
Psalm 91
He 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.”
Confess Your Confidence in the Lord
The blessings promised in Psalm 91 are written for people who don’t just say they love God. It is for those who live in close fellowship with Him. In the Old Testament, God’s dwelling was in the Holy of Holies in the inner sanctuary of the Tabernacle. Under the law, only the priest could enter the inner sanctuary. But now that grace has come, born-again believers like you and me can boldly approach the throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16), being justified by faith in Jesus Christ (Galatians 2:16).
When you love God you will trust God. Our God is more than enough to satisfy our needs. One of the Hebrew names of God is El Shaddai, the Almighty God. El Shaddai means the God of more than enough. Our God is able to make all grace abound toward us, so that we may always have an abundance of everything we need to accomplish every good work (2 Corinthians 9:8).
When we enter the secret place we suddenly realize that God is bigger than all of our problems. In the secret place, the Lord is our refuge and our fortress. In the secret place, God protects us from everything that can harm us. Throughout the day declare safety in God by speaking faith. Declare that God is your refuge from despair. Declare that He is your refuge from trouble, and from sorrow. The forces that come against you are not just ghostly powers that can be coerced with mere words. They are spiritual powers in the air. But the power behind your words is God Himself.
God is Our Assurance to Fear No Evil
The psalm says, “Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and the perilous pestilence.” A fowler is someone who catches birds. His traps catch birds off guard. Pestilences are diseases, plagues, sicknesses, and pandemics, all of which are dangerous to the innocent and unsuspecting. When we trust God, He promises to protect us from the unseen traps of the devil and the diseases that he unleashes on the world.
God is likened to a loving mother hen, whose wings her chicks run to for shelter and comfort. Shields and bucklers are used to protect soldiers in battle. When you are afraid or in need of comfort, begin to see God as that mother hen, and like the little chicks, run to His loving arms. His word is the truth that protects you from evil.
When you trust God and spend time in God’s secret place, you don’t have to fear anything, whether by day or by night. Nighttime is the time of terror; bad things happen at night, things like robbery and murder. Evil lurks in the darkness of night. But you have assurance from God that He will protect you from evil.
When Satan shoots his fiery darts at you, there is no need for fear. Having been in the secret place, you know that Satan’s arrows directed at you will miss their target, for God has already told you that “no weapon formed against you shall prosper (Isaiah 54:17). Whether arrows come by day or by night, they will not come near you.
Freedom from Doubt
Every time you visit the secret place, it’s like going into a fortified structure. Once inside, no evil can befall you. This means that no disease, like influenza or coronavirus, can come near your dwelling. When you trust God He gives His angels charge over you, to protect you and keep you from harm in every area of your life (Psalm 91:11).
If the devil can’t steal your faith, he will try to render it useless by making you doubt God. Lions, especially young lions, are bold, courageous, and fearless. The cobra is shrewd and deadly. Both of these creatures can make you cower in fear. When you trust God, you partake of His fearless nature. When you walk in faith, without doubt, it doesn’t matter how big the problem or how deadly the disease is, God assures you of victory.
The Gift of Salvation
Psalm 91 ends with God confirming His promise to those who love Him. The Hebrew word translated as love is chashaq. It means to cling to. to cleave to, to be passionate. Chashaq is used in Deuteronomy 7:7 and Deuteronomy 10:15 to describe God’s love for His people.
We can only love God when we know how much God loves us. When you love God you will trust Him. In return, God will show you His salvation. For most people, the first thing to come to mind upon hearing the word salvation is deliverance from hell. But the word involves much more than that. In the Bible, salvation is translated as Soteria. It covers a wide spectrum of deliverance, including deliverance from hell, answered prayer, companionship in times of trouble, healing, honor, satisfaction, and long life. Jesus is our salvation.
If you accept God’s conditions of repentance and faith in His Son, you will experience His salvation (Acts 4:12). Salvation is the gift of God. You are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8). No amount of work can earn salvation. We stand justified before God only by faith in Jesus Christ (Galatians 2:16). Nothing else can save us from the wrath of God.
Psalm 91 ends with a personal promise from God. This is His promise: If you love Him, He will deliver you and set you on high. When you call on God, He will answer you. When trouble comes knocking at your door, God promises to be with you. He will honor you with long and satisfying life, and He will save you from all peril.