Daily Devotions – You will find refuge

Daily Devotions – You will find refuge

 

 

Click this link to hear an audio version of the below text narrated by SOTH member Jerry Rhinehart:

Psalm 91 (NIV)

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked. 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.”

This psalm is the basis for the verses of the popular hymn “On Eagles’ Wings”. (The chorus comes from Isaiah 40:31). Once again, we see that the key to overcoming fear is to come under the shelter of one who is stronger. Here God is called our “fortress”; we are covered under “his wings”; his angels “guard you in all your ways”. But there is a deeper lesson: we are to “make the Most High our dwelling”. (v. 9). What is this about? This means seeking to live every moment where God is (instead of where we want to be). The Bible teaches that God is found in worship, in the Scriptures, in Christian fellowship, and in serving those in need. What steps can you take to spend more of your time where God promises to be, that you may find refuge? (See Psalm 27:1-4 for a similar teaching).