You’ve likely seen or heard Psalm 91 at least a few times over the last year. Not hard to imagine where the applicability of this psalm applies – “For He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from deadly pestilence. He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings you will find refuge; You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.” With COVID and all, we’ve all had increased reminders for well over a year now, how we have no need to cling to fear of disease and peril when we hold closely to the Lord.
We know that residing in the Lord’s place doesn’t prevent us from getting sick. Testament of prayer and faith keeping people safe as they work for the Lord amidst plague and death do totally exist, and are incredible testimonies in displaying God’s providence. But lots of Christians have gotten COVID-19 in the last year, getting sick or passing away in part from the virus. It’s a sinful world; we’re sinful beings by nature. These are parts of our reality we can not escape, which includes our frail human susceptibility to disease. But we’re not bound to fear and hopelessness in the face of this like some may be; this Psalm ensures us that God’s angels watch us as we follow His ways and embody His will, and He has trampled such serious evils underfoot on a much grander scale through Christ’s death and resurrection.
It’s easy to twist this passage to insinuate faith will protect us from anything bad happening – Satan tried to twist this passage in Matthew 4 to convince Jesus of the same. But this verse changes with where we consider “home” in our Christ-centric lives – is this world our permanent home? No, we know our place is with God in His eternal Kingdom. This verse points towards the hope that carries us in the face of things that strike deep, existential fear in the hearts of men who want nothing beyond this world. Consider Philippians 4:6-7, or Psalms, 18:3-4, 23, or 31:1-5; we see how God offers great comfort and sustained hope to those who build up their home in Heaven and their hope in Him; no evil nor threat nor pain could come between us and God’s just rewards for His believers. I’ve seen so many great examples from my fellow believers of this past year when despair and fear have been so prevalent, along with the many opportunities to display hope myself.
Have I been perfect in this regard? Absolutely not, it would be a blatant lie to say I’ve wholly avoided short-sighted sadness or grief at the state of what’s around us the past year. Surely I’ve sinned in this regard, and I’m thankful for Scripture and the encouragement of others reminding me of God’s truth when I do. It comes back to Isaiah 26:3 for me every time: “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.” God demonstrably ends up making a way every time when you keep your focus on Him, and as the flawed Christ-follower I am, I have been so grateful for the shelter and refuge found in our wonderful God in this last year.
So let Psalm 91 offer the assurance today that through all we’ve been through, God has been our watch and guard, comforting and protecting us; and when we seek to live in His glory, that will never change. Let verses 14-16 be our mission, that in all we do, we lift up, honor, satisfy, and set our eyes and hearts upon the God who’s gotten us this far. Let it remind us when the Lord would call upon us, that we would diligently and joyously answer His call. By focusing our eyes, hears, and lives upon Him, let’s build up our provisions in our home with the Lord, where the evils of this world pose no threat nor hold no sway. With the life we’re blessed with, let us show our thanks to the Lord for this salvation He provides. Thank you, Father God, for this incredible gift of salvation and deliverance from evil, and help me spend my days thanking you the best I can.