Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. Psalm 91:1-4 NIV
What a beautiful picture of the protection God offers to every believer when they are under attack. And we will be under attack because as 1 Peter 5:8 reminds us we have an enemy who “prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” Make no mistake, Satan is no match for our God! He cannot harm you when God is protecting you. So how do we ensure that we are under God’s protection? We dwell in His shelter, we rest in His shadow and we remain under His wings. Think about the terms used by the psalmist…shelter…refuge…fortress…rampart. A fortress will provide all the protection you need, but only from the inside. You reap none of it’s benefits if you choose to remain outside of it. You must enter in, to find protection! How close to God do you need to be to find rest from the attack? As close as His shadow! Where does a young bird find protection from the passing predator? Under the wings of his mother. Who does a shield protect? Only the one standing directly behind it. If you want God’s protection, you must remain close to Him.
You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked. Psalm 91:5-8 NIV
There is never a time when we can let our guard down. Satan does not work 9:00-5:00. He attacks in the day or the night, when you can see it coming, and when it blindsides you, when it’s easy to see your way out, and when the darkness is so thick you don’t know where to turn. This psalm makes it clear that we have an enemy, and he will attack, so there’s no need to be surprised when it happens. Yet, we do not need to fear! Our protection is guaranteed when we remain close to our God!
If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent. Psalm 91:9-13 NIV
Let’s be sure that we see the bigger picture presented here. Satan has one objective, and that’s to destroy you spiritually. His attacks against you are designed to pull you away from God, to cause you to doubt His love for you and ultimately to convince you to no longer serve Him. Jesus said, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” Matthew 10:28 NIV Satan can and will attack you in this life. This psalm is not saying that nothing bad will ever happen to Christians! Tragedy enters the life of believers and unbelievers alike. But tragedy cannot rock your faith and interfere with your relationship with God if you dwell in His shelter. He will give you hope, peace of mind, and strength to endure when you rest in His shadow.
“Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.” Psalm 91:14-16 NIV
God promises to hear your prayers, to answer you and to come to your rescue! It doesn’t get much better than that! If you remain close to God, He will protect you! You will make it through this life with your faith intact and you will someday stand before your God, face to face and here him say, “Well done, my good and faithful servant, enter into my joy.”