“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler
and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with his pinions,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.“
What does it mean that God protects us?
Psalm 91 contains some of the strongest promises of God’s protection in the Bible. God is described as our refuge and fortress. Then the psalmist gives us a wonderfully tender picture:
“He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge.”
It’s the picture of a mother bird gathering her young beneath her wings when danger comes. That sounds comforting. But it can also raise some difficult questions.
Does Psalm 91 promise that if we trust God enough, those things won’t happen to us?
Interestingly, the devil tried to use this very psalm that way. When he tempted Jesus in the wilderness, he quoted from Psalm 91. He told Jesus to throw Himself from the temple because God had promised that His angels would protect Him.
Jesus refused.
Trusting God’s protection doesn’t mean putting God to the test or assuming He has promised that nothing painful will ever happen to us.
Jesus Himself proves that.
No one ever trusted the Father more perfectly than Jesus did, yet He suffered. He was betrayed, beaten, crucified, and killed.
And still, the Father had not abandoned Him.
Jesus’ suffering wasn’t evidence that God’s promises had failed. It was actually the means by which God was fulfilling His greatest promise. Through the cross, Jesus defeated sin. Through His resurrection, He defeated death.
That helps us understand what it means to take refuge under God’s wings.
God hasn’t promised that Christians will never suffer. He has promised something even greater: nothing can ultimately take us away from Him.
We don’t always know why God allows a particular hardship into our lives. Sometimes He delivers us from danger in remarkable ways. Other times He carries us through suffering rather than around it. Sometimes He teaches us through the hardship and other times He works good for us and/or others.
But our safety with God doesn’t depend on having a trouble-free life. It depends on Jesus. The one who overcame death.
For now, we live in a sin-corrupted world. So, there will be suffering. One day, we will live in the new heaven and new earth where is no more sin and so there is no more suffering. Yet, even now, Jesus strengthens, gathers, and protects His people.
When Jesus approached Jerusalem shortly before His death, He used an image very similar to Psalm 91. He described His desire to gather Jerusalem’s children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings.
That’s the heart of our Savior. He gathers sinners to Himself and gives them refuge in His mercy.
So when trouble comes, we don’t have to pretend it isn’t frightening or difficult. We don’t have to understand why it’s happening.
We can run to the One who has already passed through suffering and death for us.
Under His wings, we are safe.
Let’s pray…
Heavenly Father,
Thank You for being my refuge and fortress. When I face danger, suffering, or uncertainty, keep me from doubting Your love. Help me to trust Your promises even when I don’t understand what You are doing. Keep me safely in Christ, knowing that because He has risen from the dead, nothing can separate me from Your love.
Amen.
As part of your devotion time, I encourage you to also pray for at least some of the following:
After praying for these people, you may want to finish your devotion time with the Lord’s Prayer…
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. They will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever and every. Amen.
In Christ’s Service,
Pastor Kurt
