I AM SECURE!

ANGELS COMMANDED BY GOD ARE PROTECTING ME

READ PSALM 91

Psalm 91:9-13

Because you have made the LORD your dwelling place—

the Most High, who is my refuge—

no evil shall be allowed to befall you,

no plague come near your tent.

For he will command his angels concerning you

to guard you in all your ways.

On their hands they will bear you up,

lest you strike your foot against a stone.

You will tread on the lion and the adder;

the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.

From a human viewpoint, how could these verses be true? I live in an evil world and often I feel that I am a victim of the schemes and actions of the evil people around me. I live with the reality of injustice! I live with the pain of broken relationships! I live with the constraints of financial burdens and difficulties! I am surrounded by the scorn of those who hate what is right and approve of those who do wrong! I even face the reality of a decaying body that speeds me along to my encounter with death!

But my shelter is God! Tents were not palaces or fortresses. They provided very little protection in themselves, but they provided all the shelter necessary, when God surrounded them with His love and the care of His angels.

The most vicious enemy, the strongest animal, or the most insurmountable obstacle cannot deter the care and love of God.

I lose sight of God so easily! I see the giants and I lose sight of the Most High. I am sick and lose sight of the Great Physician! I am lonely and I lose sight of the Great Shepherd!  I encounter financial difficulties and I lose sight of the Great Provider.

The writer of this psalm, inspired by God, is inviting us to sing this song, as we walk through the difficulties of life. I am protected. I am taken care of. Even if I were to lose my life, it would only quicken my journey to an eternal state of wonder and blessing in the presence of God.

Have you experienced a thunderstorm, and thanked God that you were in the safety of your home and not out in the street? As believers, we should live each day of our lives knowing that although there are many kinds of storms, we face them in the secure protection of our Savior.

Our eternal destiny is secure, and our daily walk is protected. God has a host of angels who will move to our side at the command of the Sovereign Lord of the universe.

As we reflect on this psalm, may the words and the tunes of this wonderful hymn encourage us today:

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!

Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.

Refrain:
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long;
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.

Perfect submission, perfect delight,
Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
Angels, descending, bring from above
Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.

Perfect submission, all is at rest,
I in my Savior am happy and blest,
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.

NO REASON TO FEAR!

ALTHOUGH I AM FRAIL AND NEED PROTECTION

READ PSALM 91

Psalm 91:3-6

For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler

and from the deadly pestilence.

He will cover you with his pinions,

and under his wings you will find refuge;

his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.

You will not fear the terror of the night,

nor the arrow that flies by day,

nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,

nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.

Living in this corrupt world, sometimes it seems that we are at the mercy of destructive men. As they plan their evil ways, they seem to be able to have the upper hand.

We have all experienced the hurt of hearing that false or damaging statements have been made about us. It is very easy to become overwhelmed with sadness and to feel that we are without hope in this evil world.

The psalmist is reminding us that there are no schemes of man nor evil situations that can escape God’s awareness. We can always find refuge in God’s faithfulness.

God never stops taking care of us perfectly. Nothing happens to us that has not been sifted through His perfect character, wisdom, power, and love.

When we truly rest in these truths, we can find the peace He promises to us all through the His word.

John 14:27

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

As Jesus was getting ready to lay down His life for His own and then depart to send the Holy Spirit, He wanted the disciples to know they would not be abandoned and that eternal life with Him would be their final destiny.

Many times, when we are going through difficulties and are being hurt by others, we desire that justice would be done, possibly immediately.

1 Peter 2:20-25

For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

Dear friends, often we feel that, as believers, we should have a special dispensation from difficulties and suffering. Peter reminds us that we have been called to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. He certainly was humiliated and suffered unjustly (in fact, we deserved that treatment, though He did not), and He carried the weight of God’s wrath for us, so we could know and live in the care of the Shepherd.

But does God care when we suffer?

He certainly does!

Romans 12:17-19

Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”

        

The question I must ask myself is: do I trust my Shepherd? He has promised to give me the strength to go through the hardships of life. He has promised to abide with me. He has promised to work all things for good according to the eternal purposes He has for me. He has promised to do justice, in His time.

I have no reason to fear, for my God is near!

ARE YOU FORGETTING AGAIN?

BEING AWARE OF THE PRIVILEGE OF GOD’S CARE

READ PSALM 91

Psalm 91:1-2

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High

will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress,

my God, in whom I trust.”

What a wonderful promise and privilege it is, to be in communion with the Most High, the Almighty, the LORD, and our God. When the Jewish people read these names, they were immediately reminded of the honor and privilege it was for them, to be protected by their God, who had no match. The Most High reminded them that there were no other gods that could even compare to Him. They lived around people who had multiple divinities, but they worshipped the only true God. The Almighty reminded them of the unmatched power of their God. Jehovah reminded them that God is self-existing: that He is eternal and does not need anyone or anything. He alone is the I AM. Elohim reminded them that God is triune and one.

As they remembered these qualities of God, they were overwhelmed with the reality of being able to abide in Him as their refuge and fortress.

What a privilege it was for the children of Israel, to be able to call God their God. As they reflected on who God was, they realized that this was an immense privilege. Approaching such a holy, exclusive, and powerful God was indeed amazing.

And what was amazing for Israel, should be for us, as well. The children of Israel called God their God. When we say “my God” do we realize the privilege we have? Do we remember that the only reason we know the true God is because He graciously revealed Himself to us? Do we marvel at the reality that we can approach God only because He made a way for us to do that, through Jesus Christ? Do we take the time to remember and honor God’s marvelous attributes?

Why do we fear? Why do we complain? Why do we look in other places? Why do we ever fail to trust God?

As we read the psalm, we are reminded that God is faithful, that He is the vindicator, He is the protector. It is illogical for us not to trust Him.

The writer had resolved to trust in God and to find his shelter and protection in Him.

Dear friends, I realize that life is hard. We deal with physical, financial, relational, and work-related problems. And at times, we are placed in situations that have no human solution. Where can we go, if not into the arms of our gentle and loving God?

Where else would we go?

Many had followed Jesus for a time, but abandoned Him when difficulties came.

John 6:66-69

After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. So Jesus said to the Twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”

His true disciples were learning that following Jesus had eternal value. They believed that Jesus was the Son of God, and that what He was offering was far beyond the temporal miracles that had attracted the others.

When we find ourselves becoming unhappy and disappointed, there is a real danger that we have lost view of what is eternal.

May we live each day fully aware of the privilege we have of being protected and cared for by the Almighty God, and may our lives be motivated by this eternal confidence!

I NEED TO LEARN TO NUMBER MY DAYS!

LEARNING IS NOT BY CHANCE; IT COMES WITH EFFORT

Psalm 90:12

So teach us to number our days

that we may get a heart of wisdom.

This is a very well-known verse, which many of us have heard and maybe tried to apply to our lives. It is interesting that when the psalmist uses the word, ‘teach’, he implies several things. First, that we don’t know how, without God’s help; we need to be taught. We don’t know, left to ourselves, what really gives value to our days; we don’t know how to make choices that cause us to use our days correctly; we don’t even know what we should desire for our days. It is obvious that this verse tells us that our ultimate goal is to obtain a wise heart.

Moses begins with two clear starting points: God is where we should dwell and God has been God forever. In other words, there is no other place where we should go for wisdom. Only God is eternal. He has directed all, from eternity past and will do it forever.

Only those men who truly recognize God as the only source of wisdom and themselves as just dust, will be the ones who can learn to use their days correctly.

God is infinite and we are finite. Man has to submit to nature, God is the one that controls it. God is the one that gives life, man is temporary. God’s anger can stop the most rebellious man in a split second. Man’s sins are exposed and visible to God and can be judged instantly by God. Our lives are finite and temporary, so we should live them in light of the eternal perspective that God has.

Man struggles and toils, but if our efforts are not for God what value do they have? Man living for himself is only accumulating judgment and wrath from God!

I look at my life, and with shame I see that I am so prone to toil, worry, and complain over those things that have no eternal value. It seems that daily I need to go back to school to find out what has true value. I need to redirect my thoughts, my desires, my actions to what is not temporary, earthly, and worthless.

Psalm 90:13

Return, O LORD! How long?

Have pity on your servants!

When will we long for heavenly things? Oh, do we ever need the pity of God! I need God’s mercy and grace! I need to go to the school of eternal values.

May our request become the same as the author’s, as we reflect on this psalm.

Psalm 90:14

Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,

that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

Every day should begin with a healthy meditation on the unchanging love of God.  The joy of our days cannot depend upon our circumstances or the behavior of other people, but only upon our reflection and awareness of God’s immutable and perfect love.

Psalm 90:15

Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,

and for as many years as we have seen evil.

We know that the Bible teaches us that all difficulties fulfill a purpose of God in our lives. He is transforming us into the image of His Son.

James 1:2-4

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

           

Psalm 90:16

Let your work be shown to your servants,

and your glorious power to their children.

It should be obvious to those observing us that God is working in us. Only what we do by God’s strength and God’s transformation brings glory to Him. Let me add, it will not be through the easy times that His work in us can be seen, but during our hard times!

Psalm 90:17

Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,

and establish the work of our hands upon us;

yes, establish the work of our hands!

Our ability and possibility of doing anything is in God’s hands. Way too often we are frustrated, not because we don’t accomplish what God wants us to do, but because we don’t do what we want to do.

Numbering our days, using our lives wisely… an ongoing lesson for all of us! Our priorities –our goals –our decisions –our actions –our attitudes -  all depend on learning to make our earthly lives count in eternal ways!

The goal is a heart of wisdom – and wisdom begins with the fear of the Lord!