Once you get to know me, you’ll quickly discover my love for learning and gaining knowledge. With that said, I love Scripture and think it’s one of the coolest things ever.
So, there’s this insanely awesome chapter in the Bible that constantly moves me into state of reverence and awe before God. It’s powerful. I want to share it with you, break it down, and explain WHY I think it’s so amazing. Please stick with it. I PROMISE IT WON’T BE BORING. You won’t regret it.
Okay, I just want you to read through the entire chapter one time (it’s only 16 verses, don’t worry). Brace yourself. Prepare to have your mind blown.
Psalm 91
1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
3 Surely he will save you
from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5 You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
8 You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.
9 If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”
and you make the Most High your dwelling,
10 no harm will overtake you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
12 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
14 “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call on me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.”
I’ll give you a second to close your dropped jaw. God is such a knock-your-socks-off kinda guy.
Now, I want you to just quickly skim through this again and just pay attention to how many times the word “will” is emboldened.
1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
3 Surely he will save you
from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5 You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
8 You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.
9 If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”
and you make the Most High your dwelling,
10 no harm will overtake you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
12 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
14 “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call on me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.”
23 TIMES. In 16 verses, the word “will” is said TWENTY-THREE TIMES.
We live in a society where it’s super common for people to be unfaithful to their promises. It could be as small as “yeah, I’ll meet you for coffee at 5:00 today” and then they never show up, or it could be something like divorce. No matter how significant or insignificant, people break their promises, and often don’t mean what they say.
But that’s why I think that these verses are so amazing. God IS faithful, although people often are not. The word “will” is a word that states something that IS GOING TO HAPPEN, aka the future, aka a PROMISE. God is PROMISING us within 16 verses that He WILL bring into completion 23 things. And I’m going to name them for you.
THE 23 “WILLS” OF PSALM 91
1. When we dwell in Jesus, when we abide in Him, He WILL give us rest (v. 1).
2. Because the characteristics of God are never-changing and ever true, we have the ability to claim that He is our refuge, our fortress, and our God (v. 2).
3. He WILL save us from “the fowler’s snare” and the “deadly pestilence” (v. 3).
Let me explain this one a bit… because if you’re anything like me, you have no idea what either of those phrases mean.
THE FOWLER’S SNARE: a concealed peril, a danger that threatens a believer. Satan is the Fowler seeking to entrap believers in his lies and schemes.
God says HE WILL save us from this/from Satan.
THE DEADLY PESTILENCE: obviously I knew what deadly meant. Pestilence? Not so much. So, I went to my nifty old friend Google. According to this fine tool: “Pestilence means a deadly and overwhelming disease that affects an entire community. For example, the Black Plague.” The Black Plague killed about 5 MILLION people. So, in other words, a “deadly pestilence” is devastating. It has the ability to drive people to sorrow and snuff out hope.
God says HE WILL save us from the “pestilences” of our lives. Have you ever felt burdened, weighed down, and hopeless? God PROMISES that he WILL save us from these circumstances… maybe he won’t necessarily CHANGE them, but He will be with you in them.
4. He WILL cover you with his feathers (v. 4).
Fun Fact: The feathers of a bird provide warmth and protection; they insulate eggs and lil’ baby birds; they also help control the bird when he/she flies. When God says he WILL cover us with his feathers, He’s saying that he will protect us, provide for us, and guide us. It’s not just a blanket statement.
5. Under His wings we WILL find refuge (v. 4).
6. His faithfulness will be our shield and rampart (v. 4). Rampart: “A defensive wall of a castle or walled city.” He is our first line of defense and main mode of protection.
7-8. You WILL NOT fear the night, arrows, pestilence (do you remember what that means?), darkness, or plague (v. 5-6) BECAUSE it WILL NOT come near you (v. 7).
9. You WILL observe and see justice (v. 8). In other terms, the LORD will fight for you (Exodus 14:14). You can entrust yourself to Him (1 Peter 2:23).
10-11. Harm and disaster WILL NOT overtake you IF you choose to dwell and take refuge in the Lord (v. 9-10).
12-14. He WILL command his angels concerning you (v. 11) and they WILL lift you up so that you WILL NOT stumble and fall (v. 12).
I’m sorry, can you indulge me for a second and read that one more time??
God says that He will COMMAND his ANGELS concerning us.
How insanely awesome is that??? He cares for us to the point that he’s willing to surround us with an ARMY of beings that are fearsome to look at. Often times when Angels appear to people in the Bible, they immediately say, “do not fear.” People who have seen Angels have FALLEN ON THEIR FACES & BEEN PARALYZED WITH FEAR. And God surrounds us with those creatures. We are on the winning side.
15-16. You WILL tread on and trample Satan and his adversaries – through the power of Jesus in you (v. 13).
17. God WILL rescue those who love Him (v. 14).
18. God WILL protect those who acknowledge Him (v. 14).
19-20. He WILL answer those who call on Him (v. 15).
21. He WILL be with us in the midst of trouble (v. 15).
22. He WILL deliver and honor us (v. 15).
23. He WILL satisfy us with long life and will show us His salvation (v. 16).
Let those promises sink in. Read this truth, believe this truth, and allow this truth to drive out the lies and the darkness that you have lived in for so long.
Jesus promises FREEDOM to those who seek to know his truth (John 8:32). He proclaims that those who are IN CHRIST are FREE (John 8:36). You are a child of the light. You are a child of freedom.
His word is TRUTH.
P.S. ….. I AM OFFICIALLY FULLY FUNDED AND LEAVE FOR THE WORLD RACE IN T-MINUS 6 DAYS!!! GOD IS GOOD! PLEASE continue to pray for my squad as we prepare for our first month overseas. Thank you so very much for reading this. Much, much, much, love!
-Lyss
