Dwelling in the shadow (Psalm 91)

There is not a person reading this who doesn't know what it is like to be afraid. I'll confess right now, that if a cockroach crawled on my arm right now, I can't predict exactly what I would do but it would be embarrassing. The world is full of people who are afraid. People are afraid of rejection, fear of not being financially secure, fear of losing a loved one, the word cancer scares people. You may even be afraid of the coronavirus.

The thing that is so frustrating about fear and anxiety is how incredibly resilient they are. When a catastrophe strikes, fear and anxiety move in closer and it grows stronger. When we come to Psalm 91, God wants us to see the world from his perspective. I believe this is a word to the fearful, and in the word you hear God whisper, "you are safe".

The one who lives under the protection of the Most High dwells in the shadow of the Almighty. Psalm 91:1

God confronts our greatest fears by letting us see how big God is in our situation. He is the Most High, the Almighty in verse 1. Throughout this psalm David describes who God is to the fearful. He is a refuge and a fortress (v2), His faithfulness is a protective shield (v4). When terror comes, and arrows from the enemy fly around you, and plagues and pestilence near you, no harm will come to you (v10) for his angels are ordered to protect you (v11).

No matter what comes your way, God has you safe. He says I am with you in trouble (v15) and I will rescue you. Too often we want to rush to the self help aisle of the bookstores or internet and try to care for ourselves. We will seek out the opinion of friends, but all those efforts fail. The only lasting security is being in the shadow of the Almighty.

Think about your fears, what do you want most? I hope that God is going to teach us to say; "I want to live under his protection", "I want to dwell in the shadow". Our fears won't have the last word on our lives, God will. His word will be come to me, and I will give you rest.