We all go through seasons in life when we need the encouragements written in Psalms 91. Many Christians quote the verses about the protection and victory that God promises us, but only few realize what is needed for them to become real in our lives. God loves us unconditionally and all He asks us to do is for our own good. But if we choose to doubt the love of God, fear the hardships, and worry about what will happen, we miss out the protection and blessings that are already in store for us.
Many theologians believe that Moses wrote this psalm, because he is mentioned as the author of the previous one and it has similarities with his writings, but even if we are not sure of the identity of the writer, we can be sure that his inspiration was the Holy Spirit. The first 2 verses, as well as verses 9 and 14 show who may benefit of the promises of this psalm. This protection from evil is not for those who just visit the presence of the Lord on rare occasions, especially when in need, or are desperate. These promises are for those who remain, and even dwell, in the shelter offered by God. To dwell in the presence of the Lord means having a constant relationship and resting in Him. The NIV and some other versions, translate the Hebrew word for “abide” with “rest,” and I can understand why. We need to feel so comfortable under our Lord’s shadow that we can rest. We give Him our worries, fears, problems because we are sure that He has the best solutions for everything. The words we speak are very important. Let us remember that "Death and life are in the power of the tongue" (Proverbs 18:21a) and the quality of our lives depends on what we say. When we declare and believe that the Lord is our place of safety and that we trust Him, we have what we say. Knowing that our Heavenly Father loves us so much that He cares and helps us solve every problem we have, we can live relaxed and enjoy life. To get to where we rest in the Lord, we must know Him and trust that He saves us from trouble, surrounds us with His protective walls, and wants our good even more than we can wish for ourselves.
Verse 3 says that the Lord will not let us fall into the snares of the evil ones, and protect us from the contagious diseases and their consequences. God's truth is a strong shield that protects us, but we must choose not to fear any evil of the kingdom of darkness or of the world we live in. Even if there are thousands of victims around us, if we choose to sincerely love the Lord, live in His presence, and trust His protection, we will be safe and only watch how expensive disobedience is for the wicked ones. If we do not understand how this kind of amazing protection is possible, verse 9 reminds us.
How wonderful it is to know that we can have a safe place in the Lord, where we are protected from the destructive attacks of the enemy. We continue to see that God commands His angels to guard us in everything we do according to the will of the Lord, and even if we have to go through difficult situations, we will be victorious. And the ending is even more wonderful:
Our Almighty God says that He saves and protects us from evil, because we love Him, we know who He is and how powerful the proclamation of His Name is. Our prayers are heard, the Lord is with us, for better or for worse, we are never without Him, because He lives in the heart of every born-again Christian. The most amazing thing is that He does not only saves us from evil, but also honors and blesses us with long lives and saves our souls. What can be more beautiful and desirable than to love God and be loved by Him? Let us know that if we trust in the Lord, we can rest in His presence, be guarded from anything that could destroy us and in any difficult situation, not have to fear. With Jesus, even if we leave these physical bodies we still gain, as Paul said: For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. Philippians 1:21 Carmen Pușcaș
0 Comments
|
Authors
Eli Cockrell and Carmen Pușcaș share thoughts about the end times and life as a Christian in the world we live in today. Archives
November 2024
Categories |