Read: Psalm 91
I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” For he will deliver you. (vv. 2-3)
“9-1-1, what’s your emergency? . . . I’ll send an officer to you right away.” While many of us may never hear these words, we all make that distress call, at one time or another, in our prayers to God for his protection, for us not to be afraid—of the night, the darkness, the destruction—of the dangers of life that lurk everywhere (vv. 5-6). We look to him to take us “under his wings” (v. 4) and let him be our “refuge” and our “fortress” (v. 2) in times of trouble.
Throughout Psalm 91, God is presented in several ways, but all of them deliver the same message: security. God is a high tower in whose shadow we can be concealed (v. 1), a mother bird shielding us (v. 4). God is a “safe house” in times of despair, and will save us in times of distress: we “will not fear” (v. 5); no harm will befall us; no disaster will come near us (v. 10). Crucially, this security is available because the psalmist claims it in God (vv. 2, 9).
For all that Psalm 91 says, it most definitely lets you know that when we make God our refuge, when we make that call for help, we can be assured in his faithfulness that he will receive us. So, next time we face fear, we can pray the words of Psalm 91 with confidence, claiming all its promised benefits because God in his grace chooses us.
As you pray, ask how you can surrender yourself in times of trouble.
About the Author
Ariana D. Den Bleyker is a Pittsburgh native currently residing in New York’s Hudson Valley. She is the author of two devotional poetry collections,To Be Held by the LightandWaking in the Light. She is an ordained deacon in the Reformed Church of America.
