Our Shelter Psalm 91:9-12

One of the important words of this psalm is the word refuge.  The Psalmist found refuge or a place of protection in the Lord.  In the Bible it says that the Lord is the defender of the weak.  The Lord is the defender of the pour and the righteous.  The Lord is the protector of those who turn to him.   God is our refuge. He is our shelter our fortress our rock.  In Him we put our trust and he shelters us under his wings. 

And don’t we know that there are many predators in our world.  There are those who would desire to take advantage of us, harm us and lie to us.  But out text says,  “If you make the Most High your dwelling even the Lord, who is my refuge then no harm will befall 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.” Psalm 91:9-12

Those are some mighty wonderful promises especially in a day of uncertainty.  But there are some conditions to these promises.  No there are no conditions to God’s love but we still have to make the Lord our refuge.   Just like we have to hide under a canopy or an overhang to avoid getting wet during a rain storm  so too we have to hide under the shelter of the Lord to avoid facing natural consequences.  Sometimes I think God allows those consequences to get us to return to Him.

So who is your refuge today?  Are you trying to go it alone?  Do you rest on your own resources, your mind, your spirit, your wit, your goodness, and your cunning?   How is that working for you?

In Isaiah 28 it says that we have made our lies our refuge.  I believe that statement is true of many people today.  They are so good at twisting the truth and fabricating lies that it’s hard for them to know what the truth is.  Some people are one lie ahead of the pack.  However this is an awful refuge.  It is building your house on shifting sands.  One day the lies will catch up to you.   The alternative is to build upon a firm foundation which is the Word of God.  Such a refuge will set us free, though the truth might be very painful like a surgeon’s knife at least at first.

To Ponder:  Is the Lord your refuge today?  In times of troubles do you always turn to Him or are there other places of refuge that you sometimes lean?   If that is the case I invite you.  Actually God invites you to rest in the shadow of the Almighty.  Make the Lord your God in whom you trust.