One of my all time favourite psalms is 91. I was especially in love with this psalm as a teenager when I was taking my first steps out in the world on my own. It felt good to know God is my protector.

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
    will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
² I will say of theLord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
    my God, in whom I trust.”
(Psalm 91:1-2, NIV,*)

God is not only our hiding place, our peaceful sanctuary. He will also be with us wherever we go. Dillon Burroughs has said “Safety comes in our nearness to God, not in our distance from our enemies.” When we abide in God, we are safe anywhere. We are not meant to retreat from the world but shine in the world.

Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night,
    nor the arrow that flies in the day.
⁶ Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness,
    nor the disaster that strikes at midday.
⁷ Though a thousand fall at your side,
    though ten thousand are dying around you,
    these evils will not touch you.
11 For he will order his angels
    to protect you wherever you go.
(Psalm 91:5-7, 11, NLT,*)

But bad things happen for Christians too, you say. Yes, that’s true. We have not been promised an easy life. But we’ve promised that God will be with us in our troubled times,
that he will use the intended harm for good,
that he will use troubles to bring us closer to him, and – most importantly-
that nothing will ever harm our souls.

God says,“Because you are devoted to me,
    I’ll rescue you.
    I’ll protect you because you know my name.
¹⁵ Whenever you cry out to me, I’ll answer.
    I’ll be with you in troubling times.
    I’ll save you and glorify you.
¹⁶     I’ll fill you full with old age.
    I’ll show you my salvation.”
(Psalm 91:14-16, CEB,*)

We are secure in God. Nothing will happen to us without him knowing it. He is in control, no matter how crazy the world around us is becoming. We are not to be afraid, God is with us. We are to be bold in Christ, God is our protector. The closer to him we are, the safer we are. No matter what the world says.

 

Gracious God,
Thank you for being our protector.
Thank you for keeping us safe in you.
We give our fears to you,
give us your peace.
Make us bold in Christ,
strengthen us for your service.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen

Q4U: Do you rely on God as your protector?

Be blessed, my fellow pilgrim, as you embrace God as your shelter and protector!

* [As you might have noticed, I enjoy reading the Bible in different translations and love comparing them. I have started linking the Bible verses to Biblegateway.com so you can easily read (and compare) them in the different versions I’ve used while preparing each post.].

Image courtesy of Mari-Anna Stålnacke. Linking up today with Dance with Jesus, Faith-filled Fridays, Five Minute Friday.