Psalm 91 is another of the psalms that I have underlined and highlighted in my Bible, one that I’ve turned to many times through the years. Its theme is security — God protects those who abide in him.
My parents tell me that when I was two years old, we were driving around town in their 1961 Chevy Corvair Monza when a tornado hit. Dad felt the car being pulled off the road, so he stopped, and we jumped into a ditch. It wasn’t the best shelter, but we survived.
This psalm says that God is the ultimate shelter. The author writes, “He is my refuge and my fortress” (verse 2), “under his wings you shall take refuge” (verse 4), and “no evil shall befall you” (verse 9). When something bad happens, God is our shelter in the storm. Does that mean that no harm will ever come to a believer? Or was the author just wrong? Let’s dig in and find out.
The writer starts with a powerful statement:
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.” (Psalm 91:1-2)
Note the names for God the author uses, Most High and the Almighty. Our God is sovereign over all creation, including anything that happens to any individual. The promise here, though, is only for those who “dwell” in the “secret place” (“shelter,” ESV) of God. God is sovereign over all, but this promise of shelter is only given to those who “dwell” in the shelter, who take up residence there.
The “secret place” is Jesus Christ. To dwell with God is to know him, and the only way to know God is through a relationship with his Son. This “dwelling” or “abiding” is what Jesus was talking about in John 15 when he said, “Abide in me” (verse 9). For Christians, abiding in Jesus means trusting in his love, his power, and his promise to give you everything you need to do his will and to bring Him glory.
According to the psalmist, the abiding life (verses 1-2) leads to life without fear (Psalm 91:3-13).
For those in a relationship with God, he’s like a mother hen when danger comes, spreading his wings for us to hide under. He’s our shield in battle, protecting us from harm. Destruction may come to thousands of people around us, but the danger will not affect the believer (verse 7). Verses 9-10 state that for those who have made the Lord their refuge and dwelling place, no evil will impact us, and no plague will come near to us. This is all starting to sound too good to be true.
What’s more, God sends angels to watch over us and protect us from harm (verses 11-12), which has always been a great comfort to me. Satan quoted these verses during his temptation of Jesus (Matthew 4:6), but Jesus firmly rejected the temptation because protection wasn’t his top priority. Our salvation was. Jesus also pointed out that while Psalm 91 is true, we should never put God to the test.
So far, we see that the abiding life (verses 1-2) can lead to life without fear (verses 3-13). Now the author tells us that life without fear can lead us to a life of victory and peace (verses 14-16). Here’s where the psalm has been pointing from the start. In multiple Bibles that I’ve read over the last forty years or so, I’ve underlined and/or highlighted verses 1-2 and 14-16 of this psalm. And in difficult time after difficult time, I’ve read these verses, prayed these verses, and shed tears over these verses.
But, again, is this psalm offering protection from all harm to every Christian, to anyone who “dwells in the secret place”?
Obviously, no. We’ve all seen faithful followers of Christ fall to the dangers listed in this psalm. Besides, if no harm ever came to a Christian, then no Christian would ever die, which is the greatest harm.
What Psalm 91 does teach is that through every one of these dangers, the Christian can stand in perfect peace, knowing all is well.
How can we possibly have peace in the face of danger?
First, we remember that God’s promises aren’t limited to this life. Sometimes his promises to us won’t be fulfilled until we leave this life and enter eternity in him. While some danger may take our life, no harm can take our soul.
Second, we can trust that everything that happens to us is God-filtered. No matter what difficulty you face, the Almighty God allowed it to enter your life for a reason, and that reason is always for good.
The Apostle Paul, who faced dangers throughout his ministry, understood this. Some people describe his words in Romans 8:28-39 as a shortened version of Psalm 91. He writes, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (verse 28), and “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (verses 31).
Paul asks if anything could ever separate us from God’s love (verse 35). His answer is, no, not one danger on this planet could ever separate us from God. Listen to verse 37:
Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. (Romans 8:37)
No matter what horrible difficulty we face, we’re not only survivors, but conquerors through the One who proves his love for us over and over. Christians don’t simply survive the dangers; we can have overwhelming victory over them because we face them with Jesus, our “secret place,” with all of his love and strength.
What God is telling us in Romans 8 and Psalm 91 is this: even though we’ll face dangers in this life, we can trust in the love and power of God to give us everything we need to both do his will and bring him glory. While God’s protection in Psalm 91 is real, his care may also allow believers to go through trials. We may live, or we may die, but even if we die, our death is a victory, because nothing can destroy us eternally. We are more than conquerors.
But here’s what happens to me. I’ve internalized this truth, I know it forwards and backwards. Then something happens, and my faith crumbles. It might be a job loss, a bad doctor’s report, or a health scare for one of my children or grandchildren. I’m no super Christian, just a dad and granddad who, in those times, feels far from God’s shelter.
That’s when I’ve turned to Psalm 91. When I’ve felt lost and defeated and alone with nowhere else to go, I’ve opened my Bible to this page and cried to God, until the tears just won’t come anymore.
And every time, every time, I’ve felt God’s arms around me, gently reminding me that he loves me, that he’s in charge of the situation, and that even if what I consider to be the worst thing that could happen actually happens – death – even that isn’t a bad thing. Because for a believer, to step out of this life is to step into life with Jesus! Only when we stop living here do we start to really live.
Armed with this knowledge, look back at verses 14-16 of Psalm 91. The speaker changes here. It isn’t the psalmist talking to God; it’s God talking about us. Open your Bible, and you’ll see it. So change all the third-person words in this passage to second person, and listen to what your Heavenly Father is saying to you:
“Because you have set your love upon Me, therefore I will deliver you; I will set you on high, because you have known My name. You shall call upon Me, and I will answer you; I will be with you in trouble; I will deliver you and honor you. With long life I will satisfy you, and show you My salvation.”
I pray that, when you next face difficulty, God will show you these words again, and that he’ll comfort you as only he can.
Powerful reminders!