Psalm 91:3
For He (The Lord) will rescue you from every trap and protect you from the fatal plague.
The Lord is my rescuer. Every time I get my foot caught in a snare, He is the one who comes and gently pulls it free, binds up my wound, sets me on my feet, dusts me off and helps me on my way. I might have a few cuts and scrapes, but He got me free of the trap. It’s not magic … the scars will remain. Point is, He comes through. Everytime. In His time.
Not only is He a rescuer, but He’s a protector. He protects us from the sickness that can kills us. He’s athe healer, the Great Physician, so naturally He is about protecting you from plagues and things that can causes illness. But it says the fatal plague. I wonder what that means… I need to do some further study on this. I welcome comments though!
Psalm 91:2
A Declaration: Of the Lord I declare this: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; He is my God and I am trusting in Him.
A refuge can look like alot of things to many people. To some it’s a strong castle on a hill, guarded by a formidable army with catapults and a moat, to others it is a quiet place in the woods or a stretch of beach along the lake that no one else knows about. It’s that place where you feel safe. Safe from eyes and ears and anything that can harm you. Where it’s just you and God and the assurance that He’s got you securely in His hand. When I was a kid, my place was a stand of pines, planted long ago in even rows. But you could not see that from the outside, all you could see was a bunch of overgrown weeds and brush. But when you would push through and get into the pines, the floor was soft with needles and it was open and quiet. The light filtered through in bits and rays. It was a great place for me to sit and read, think, hide, and talk to God. When things became too intense or overwhelming for me, that’s where I would end up. It was my refuge; my place of safety.
But David is not talking about a physical place here. Rather, he says that THE LORD is my refuge; THE LORD is my safety and in Him doI trust. Protection is implicit in this statement. I trust that He will protect me. He is my safe place!
I thought I would share some of my thoughts as I have been studying Psalm 91 over the past weeks.
Psalm 91:1
If you live in the shelter of the Most High, then you will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
A shelter is a place of safety from a storm, a refuge, a covering, a place to rest, to sit down, protection.
- Living in a shelter – That’s an interesting concept. To approach life in such a way that I know that I am covered. I am protected by that hand of the Most High God … something bigger than me; something beyond me; but someone who loves me enough to want to protect me; shelter me; cover me.
- Rest – to chill, relax, no worries, the absence of striving, not working, just breathing, sitting quietly, eyes closed enjoying the “being.”
It’s what we all want … stress-free living, where we live in such a place of allowing God to carry our burdens, of living in His protection and care … letting Him shelter us from all the garbage of the world. This is the place of rest where we experience true joy and true peace.
The shadow of the Almighty- a shadow is an image outline reflected on the ground or on a wall. It’s shade, like when the sun is above a tree, the branches provide shade. You can not tangibly feel a shadow or grab hold iof it, but you certainly can feel the effects of standing in the shadow of a building on a hot sunny day, or while walking on the blazing hot sand along the beach and you come upon a tree and experience the amazing coolness of the sand … it’s relief from the intensity of the sun. It’s a place of rest, typically. You rest in the shadow. The shadow of God … that’s an interesting idea. Can you escape the intensity of the blazing Son and take refuge under the coolness of the shadow of the Almighty? It’s almost like I need a rest for a second because being in the intensity is just too much. It’s like the four living creatures who are before the throne of God who fall down because the presence of God is too much for them … they take a break, then they get back up and sing and … fall back down… So the shadow – a place of rest, safety, and refuge.
All that to say that living in the shelter of God means I also rest in His shadow… And that’s a pretty good place to be.
During the past few weeks, we have had some storms here in the midwest. Lots of wind, rain and even some hail. The sirens were sounding this particular night as I drove home to beat the storm. It beat on us for a while, and later, since we had no power, we decided to take a drive and see the damage. I saw several trees which had been completely uprooted – huge circles of earth and grass exposing the shallow root systems of these impressive looking trees.
As I stood there in the road, staring at this tree, which now lay across someone’s freshly mown lawn, I thought, “Wow, I bet earlier today these folks would not have imagined their big solid tree collapsing into a heap of twisted wood and broken branches.” Immediately I thought of the prophetic word that Corey Stark had received from the Lord in 2002 — Rain, Wind, Oil, Fire. This word spoke of trees that were content to put out roots along the surface where the anointing was falling – lapping up the shallow tastes of goodness; never going down; never finding the deep earth that would securely root them when the storms came. And the storms will come.
The question is, will I be a tree with roots that have drilled down, seeking the true oil of the presence of the Lord? God, I don’t want to be a tree in someone’s yard that falls over when a storm hits and my roots are shallow. Don’t let me be content with the surface. I want to plunge to the depths of You.
“These trees roots labored downwards, continually excelling, as they forced their way through the earth (which represented depths of humility). They were turning and twisting, like a drill bit, as they plummeted through the layers of the crusted earth, chasing the rain that went before them … the rain led them straight to the source. It led them directly to the fountains of the deep! The Lord clearly showed me that the roots to these trees were three – Faith, Hope and Love….These three roots finally broke through the final layer of earth and to my surprise, what they plunged into wasn’t water at all, but an underground river of golden oil. The Lord spoke again and said, “This river of oil represents My presence that indwells each believer through the Holy Spirit.”
<< Read this word… It is a critical word for all of us. >>
A great day of encouragement at church, huge waves and big air at the lake (tried a new one out today – photos to come), grilled chicken with the family, and finished the day with a trek up to Michigan to join with thousands for the fireworks on Lake Michigan.
This was my first time photographing fireworks, but several of them came out pretty well. The night was beautiful – warm, but the cool breeze from the lake kept it comfortable. I could not believe how many people were there, and the mass exodus following the show was phenomenal, but all in all, we got in and out pretty easily and even stopped by Cabana’s in the process.
Reminded of the price paid for our freedom – not only by the men who served the United States protecting and fighting, but the price paid by Jesus Christ – my ultimate protector and the One who does battle in the heavenlies on my behalf.
“No man can serve two masters… What we spend our money on often determines the focus of our worship.”
I saw that today and remembered another old saying… “I spend money I don’t have, to buy things I don’t need, to impress people I don’t even know.”
I don’t want the focus of my worship to be material possessions.
It’s been 20 years since the several mile drive up the rough and rocky mountain trail, bumping and creaking on rutted washed-out dirt road, curving alongside a steep drop to the creek below. Once the motors are silenced and the backpags are in place, the hike begins, up through the forest, birdcalls and the sounds of water running down through rocks. The sunlight filters down through the trees, creating interesting patterns and shadows. The water pools are crystal clear, and ice cold. Yup, it’s been 20 years and everything is exactly as I remember it. The meadow is neither bigger nor smaller… just that burst of open sunlight and the first glimpse of the mountain lake through the trees. The air was sweet and clean, and the sounds of nature and a few humans was all that could be heard that day. When I was young, this was like holy ground, in many ways. Dad would stop us and say “shhhh… listen.” And we would hold our breath to hear the sound of creation for just a few moments. Then it was on to our favorite swimming rock across the lake, where the goodness of mountain pies over a fire awaited. It was good to be back.
I was in New York this past week and it was brilliant. I spent time with Mom, Sara and the kids, Gram, Dad and Chris, and Robert came with me. We hiked mountains and swam in clear cold water, explored ancient cemeteries, drove to the top of Sacandaga, walked all over Saratoga, painted a kitchen, remembered stories, discussed the end times ’til late into the night, and experienced the power of Niagara Falls. All in all, one good way to spend a week.
Gallery I – Sara’s, Mom’s, Sacandaga, Saratoga>>
Gallery II – The Trip to the Mountains >>
Gallery III – Niagara Falls >>
