He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust.”
Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler
And from the perilous pestilence.
He shall cover you with His feathers,
And under His wings you shall take refuge;
His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,
Nor of the arrow that flies by day,
Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,
Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.
A thousand may fall at your side,
And ten thousand at your right hand;
But it shall not come near you.
Only with your eyes shall you look,
And see the reward of the wicked.
Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge,
Even the Most High, your dwelling place,
No evil shall befall you,
Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;
For He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you in all your ways.
In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.
You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra,
The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.
“Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will set him on high, because he has known My name.
He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will deliver him and honor him.
With long life I will satisfy him,
And show him My salvation.”
How do you live in a place of hope, when everything seems to fail? How do you live in a place of faith instead of fear when life as you know it seems to be falling apart? Psalm 91 shows us who our God really is. He is a God who never sleeps. He is always there ready to fight for us. Nothing ever takes Him by surprise, even if it takes us by surprise.
Psalm 91 gives me a sense of peace in midst of trials. We have protection in God, through all the chaos. He will protect me...and He is going to protect you. Psalm 91 reminds me that I am to dwell in the secret place of the Almighty God. Dwell is a verb that means to live in or at a specified place. Not a place I visit when I feel down or scared or I’m feeling out of control. It means to live there, get comfortable there, kick your shoes off. I live at my house…I visit other places. I visit work, I visit my kids school, I visit the doctor, but I live at my house. It’s the place I am the most comfortable, most vulnerable. It has the people I am closest to. The people closest to me get to see all the pieces of me, the good, the bad and the ugly; because that is home. It is a conscious choice we have to make; to spend quality time.
As everything in our world has changed overnight, I see so much good. Sure that is bad and there is no doubt that our world is going through a worldwide traumatic event, but I see God in it. I see people slowing down and reprioritizing their lives. I see people looking to God for their hope. I see families spending time together, using technology to build community instead of as a means for escape. People are remembering that dwelling with God doesn't mean sitting and reading your bible 24/7. It means being in communion with Him. Listening to worship music, fellowshipping with your immediate family, reading your Bible to your kids, remembering all the blessing that God has given you and being a good steward of them.
Today as I felt trapped in my house, while I mopped my kitchen floor from the multiple splits from the toddler, and the messes from the big kids, I put on some worship music and talked to God, remembering that I need to dwell in Him. As I mopped and listened, I looked up and peaked out of the garage door to find my little toddler laying on the garage floor (the germaphobe in me would usually freak out) with his little leappad learning his numbers. He was sitting close to his daddy, who was cleaning out the garage (a chore we have put off for far too long). My overly social, complainer about being in quarantine, toddler was at peace as he laid there because he was dwelling with his daddy just by being in the garage with him. God showed me that is what I need to be doing. We don't have to be super spiritual, it's as simple of being close to our Heavenly Father and keeping the perspective that because we dwell in Him, He will overcome the world! He will give us peace as we dwell in His presence.
As everything in our world has changed overnight, I see so much good. Sure that is bad and there is no doubt that our world is going through a worldwide traumatic event, but I see God in it. I see people slowing down and reprioritizing their lives. I see people looking to God for their hope. I see families spending time together, using technology to build community instead of as a means for escape. People are remembering that dwelling with God doesn't mean sitting and reading your bible 24/7. It means being in communion with Him. Listening to worship music, fellowshipping with your immediate family, reading your Bible to your kids, remembering all the blessing that God has given you and being a good steward of them.
Today as I felt trapped in my house, while I mopped my kitchen floor from the multiple splits from the toddler, and the messes from the big kids, I put on some worship music and talked to God, remembering that I need to dwell in Him. As I mopped and listened, I looked up and peaked out of the garage door to find my little toddler laying on the garage floor (the germaphobe in me would usually freak out) with his little leappad learning his numbers. He was sitting close to his daddy, who was cleaning out the garage (a chore we have put off for far too long). My overly social, complainer about being in quarantine, toddler was at peace as he laid there because he was dwelling with his daddy just by being in the garage with him. God showed me that is what I need to be doing. We don't have to be super spiritual, it's as simple of being close to our Heavenly Father and keeping the perspective that because we dwell in Him, He will overcome the world! He will give us peace as we dwell in His presence.
Phillippians 4:6-7, tell us, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” And 1 Peter 5:7, says to, “Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.”
Dwell in the secret place of the Most High; He cares for you! As bad and as hard as being in quarantine has been, there is so much good that is coming out of it. It's ok to grieve the loss of our old "Normal," but don't dwell there. Dwell in Him and I hope that when this chapter of our lives is over that we take all the good and the things we learned from this to create a new and improved normal. Don't forget what God taught you in the dark, when you get back into the light.
We are stronger than this Covid-19 and the quarantine that is coming along with it. It is beautiful to see neighbors helping one another, and people writing letters, and people taking their God given gifts and sharing them with others over the internet to help one another. Look around, people are offering free online workout routines, art lessons, youth groups meeting via youtube and Zoom, teachers driving through neighborhoods with mega phones telling students how they miss them and encouraging them, story readings, the number of online churches is mind blowing! Our world is finding a way to still connect and have community even when we can't meet in person. With God we are stronger than we ever thought possible!
What is your hope in? Right now, today, What is your hope in? We have hope! Switch your perspective form one of fear and disappointment to one of opportunity and challenge. Take this time and make it meaningful for Christ!
God promises us to never leave nor forsake us. God's voice closes the Psalm reminding us that because we love him, He will deliver us, He knows us, He will answer us, He is with us in the midst of trouble, and will deliver us.
We have hope! This doesn't have to be a list of things we have lost and are grieving. Choose today to dwell in His presence and show the world the hope we have in Him.
