It has been a fairly uneventful summer for our little family. Calm days spent at the pool, playing with friends – nothing that would get us out of sorts. And, I’m grateful for that.
But, there are friends and family in the middle of trial and heartbreak. My own heart has been heavy with prayer, asking my Heavenly Father to move in these different situations. When it has almost been too much, I have searched for comfort – and one of the places I have found my heart can rest is in Psalm 91.
A few of the girls from my family and I have been reading regularly and trying to memorize the whole chapter. I have to be honest and tell you it has been a test for my heart and mind. First, I’m not good at memory work, and then, at times it has also been a test for my mind to believe. But, God is good to supply the gift of faith and my heart is filled because of His goodness.
For all of us, living in this broken world, there is this Psalm. It is an anecdote for the fears and devastation we face. When I feel I can’t take a moment more, I slip away to these words and hide my heart in the shelter of His promises…
Psalm 91
1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust.”
3 Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler[a]
And from the perilous pestilence.
4 He shall cover you with His feathers,
And under His wings you shall take refuge;
His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
5 You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,
Nor of the arrow that flies by day,
6 Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,
Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.7 A thousand may fall at your side,
And ten thousand at your right hand;
But it shall not come near you.
8 Only with your eyes shall you look,
And see the reward of the wicked.9 Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge,
Even the Most High, your dwelling place,
10 No evil shall befall you,
Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;
11 For He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you in all your ways.
12 In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.
13 You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra,
The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.
14 “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.
15 He shall call upon 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.”
May your heart find refuge and rest in Him!
I stumbled across this precious find earlier this week, and now it is in my bedroom right where I can see it when I wake up, and when I’m falling asleep.
daily portion 