“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty…the Lord…is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in Him will I trust. Surely He shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with His feathers, and under His wings shalt thou trust…Thou shalt not be afraid…for the pestilence [pandemic] that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. Because thou hast made the Lord…thy habitation; there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands…Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him…he shall call upon Me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation” (Psalm 91 portions).
Satanic powers of darkness have already destroyed multiple millions of people over time. But for those who put their trust in God and do not let fear overcome them, He has promised that His judgment on sin “shall not come nigh thee.”
We need to ask ourselves: Is God the all-powerful One in any situation that He has chosen to set before us? Are all our thoughts and plans made according to His direction—the One who is all wisdom? Can we truly say that He is always present in our lives? If He is, then we already know what living “under the shadow of the Almighty” means. But no one can tell us where “the shadow of the Almighty” is—that is something that we have to find out for our self. Once we have discovered the answer, then we need to live there and to obey Him.
“A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh [near] thee” (Psalm 91:7). Satanic powers of darkness have already destroyed multiple millions of people over time. But for those who put their trust in God and do not let fear overcome them, He has promised that His judgment on sin “shall not come nigh thee.” How can this be possible? “Because thou hast made the Lord…thy habitation” (Psalm 91:9). Since Christ is our substitute before the heavenly Father, if we are in Him, He will be our dwelling place. Then we are in a position where God has promised that“…no evil [shall] befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling” (Psalm 91:10). And if we continue to dwell in the “secret place of the Most High…He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways” (Psalm 91:11).
There is no true child of God who is not going to meet troubles at various times, but Jesus tells us not to be surprised or come undone when they arrive.
The road Jesus walked in His earthly life was one of perfect submission, obedience, and dependence upon His heavenly Father. And everyone who walks the same road after Him, and remains dependent on and faithful to Him, can be certain that they will also have His victory. There is no true child of God who is not going to meet troubles at various times, but Jesus tells us not to be surprised or come undone when they arrive. He told us in advance that, “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Therefore, there is nothing we need to fear. God has everything under control, whether we can see it or not.
“Surely He shall deliver thee from…the noisome pestilence…” (Psalm 91:3). “Noisome pestilence” refers to a calamity that sweeps away all before it. “…and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land…” (Exodus 12:13). If you hope to be saved from a plague, God has already provided a way. It is available to us only by the blood of Jesus Christ (the Lamb of God) that was shed when He died on the cross, and by faith in what His blood stands for in order to save us. (Please visit our section on The Way to God to learn more about this.)
Whenever we face difficulties, we are usually tempted to apply our own commonsense to try to resolve them. But people who are dedicated to the Lord are thrilled beyond measure when difficulties come and crush them, because they realize that what they are facing is so impossible for them to conquer that it can’t be done by anyone except God! Jesus said, “Take therefore no thought for the morrow” (Matthew 6:34). We who live in today’s generation are missing the spiritual strength and power God intends for us to have, because taking “thought for the morrow” is all too often the main factor steering our calculations—not Jesus Christ. But don’t think He is telling us that we cannot ever be anxious; He’s telling us to not let consideration and concern for tomorrow rule over our efforts for today.
He can’t give you strength unless and until you accept and perform the extra effort required. But as soon as you do, strength will come.
But God does not just hand us a life as an overcomer the way we are—He gives it to us as we overcome. Then we are able to become strong, because He will stretch us to the maximum. No strain, no pain; no gain, no strength! He can’t give you strength unless and until you accept and perform the extra effort required. But as soon as you do, strength will come. If you work out too hard physically, you will become weak and exhausted. But when you work hard spiritually, you obtain more strength! God doesn’t help you get this strength for another day, or another hour—but only for each moment coming up next.
“Come unto Me,” Jesus tells us, “and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). But do His words apply to you and to me today? Does He really know how difficult our circumstances are now? He certainly does. He wants us to go to Him, and admit that we have been fooling ourselves with the mistaken thought that what we are going through is too much for Him to handle. We should instead ask Him to forgive us, and tell our Heavenly Father “I want You to be the One who dominates in all my plans and preparations from now on!” Then let go and let Him guide and rule—and you obey. That is when He will be “…my refuge and my fortress: my God; in Him will I trust.”
[Image credits: Featured image (when applicable): Arek Socha/pixabay; alexderouge/pixabay; stooss/freeimages; Gerd Altmann/pixabay(2 images)]
