Psalm 91 (Passion Translation)

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AFRAID OF THE FUTURE?

Read the Psalm which describes the power of experiencing God’s presence and protection…

Tower stronghold, illustration of Psalm 91 (Passion Translation).

Whoever lives within the secret shadow of Shaddi, hidden in the strength of God Most High,
will always be kept safe and feel secure!
Here's how I describe Him:
He's the Hope that holds me, and the Stronghold to shelter me,
The only God for me, and my Great Confidence.

Yes He will rescue you from every hidden trap of the enemy,
and He will protect you from false accusation and any deadly curse.
His massive arms are wrapped around you, protecting you.
You can run under His covering of majesty and hide.
His faithfulness is a wrap-around shield keeping you from harm.

You will never worry about an attack of demonic forces at night,
not have to fear a spirit of darkness coming against you.
Don't fear a thing! Whether by night or by day, demonic danger will not trouble you, nor the powers of evil launched against you.
For God will keep you safe and secure, they won't lay a hand on you!

Even in a time of disaster with thousands and thousands being killed,
you will remain unscathed and unharmed!
You will be a spectator as the wicked perish in judgment,
for you will still be kept safe and secure!
When we live our lives within the shadow of the God Most High,
our Secret Hiding Place, we will always be shielded from harm!
How then could evil prevail against us, or disease infect us?

God will send His messengers- angels with special orders to protect you wherever you go,
defending you from all harm.
If you walk into a trap, they'll be there for you and keep you from stumbling!
You'll even walk unharmed among the fiercest powers of darkness,
trampling every one of them beneath your feet!

For here is what the Lord has spoken to me:
"Because you have chosen to be My great lover, I have chosen to greatly protect you.
I will set you in a high place, safe and secure before My face.
I will answer your cry for help every time you pray, and you will find and feel My presence,
even in your time of pressure and trouble.
I will be Your glorious Hero and give you success!
You will be satisfied with a full life, and with all that I do for you!
For you will feast your eyes on the fullness of My salvation, drinking deeply of me!"
[Psalm 91 TPT**]

WORRIED AND ANXIOUS?

Peel (or pele) towers are a familiar sight in the borderlands between Scotland and England. In a historically turbulent area, these towers were built hundreds of years ago for protection, with walls several feet thick, and in an elevated position, for surveillance. When cross-border raids took place, local landowners would gather their families, and sometimes nearby communities, into these strongholds for protection. Many of these towers are still intact after centuries, a testament to the skill of the builders, and those charged with repelling invaders.

Seeing these bastions always reminds me of Psalm 91, and the beautiful picture it paints of the safe place we all have to run to in these turbulent times. Why not take time right now to creep into our Lord's protection?

WHEN FEAR TAKES HOLD...

The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world.
On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.
[2 Corinthians 10:4]

Close-up of man in armour, carrying a sword, illustrating section on weapons of spiritual warfare.

Sometimes—particularly in the middle of the night—fear and anxiety take hold, and we need to take extra steps to combat them. As well as learning to take shelter in the 'shadow of God' [Psalm 91:1], we have also been given powerful spiritual weapons to counter ‘enemy attack’.

If you are having problems resting in the Lord’s ‘stronghold’, try the following:

THE WORD

You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word.
[Psalm 119:114]

1. Get very quiet inside, and turn your focus of your heart towards the Lord. Ask the Holy Spirit to bring to mind every issue, big and small, which is a source of stress at the moment. Write them all down without stopping to analyse. Then lay them down before your Heavenly Father.

2. Using the words of Psalm 91, thank Him for His promises. (See the PDF of the personalised version of the psalm, below.)

3. Find out what the Word says about your situation; there are several online concordances to help (e.g. www.biblegateway.com). Then begin to declare God’s thoughts over your life and circumstances. You can find out more about the POWER OF THE SPOKEN WORD and the need for CREATING NEW MINDSETS by clicking the links.

In addition, use the Scriptures on ‘Fear’ in the other PDF below. It is really helpful to read them on to an MP3 player, or similar, and listen to them often, in particular, before going to sleep.

PSALM 91, PERSONALISED

SCRIPTURES ON FEAR

THE NAME

The name of the Lord is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.
[Proverbs 18:10]

The Border magnates were served, and often feared, by the surrounding communities. If representatives came to a dependent-household in the name of a particular lord, their demands were satisfied immediately; dissenters would not be tolerated. The name gave the messengers power. All the power of the lord—to elevate, honour and bless, or to evict, demand, and destroy—was summed up in the name. Happy were those who had the lord’s favour!

In the same way, the Name of Jesus represents all that He is: our all-powerful, all-loving, all-glorious Saviour, who has come to destroy the works of the Evil One [1 John 3:8]. And His Name is our safe place, our tower of refuge. This is not dependent on whether we feel worthy or not. It is not something we can ever earn. We have His favour—not because of anything we have done, but because He has taken away our guilt and shame, and has called us righteous, and has invited us to find sanctuary in Him. You can find out more about guilt, shame and righteousness, by clicking on these pages:

So, as well as being able to hide ourselves in the Lord’s ‘stronghold’, and His Word as a powerful offensive weapon, we also have the right to use His Name as a shield against the Evil One’s onslaught. In the 'Name of the Lord' we can declare protection over ourselves and our loved ones.

THE BLOOD

When Jesus poured out His blood on our behalf, He completely defeated every destructive power raised against us. Although that victory was won decisively on the Cross, it still has to be enforced in the nitty-gritty of our lives. One way of doing this is by appealing to the power of ‘the Blood of Jesus’.

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace [Ephesians 1:7]

[See also, Romans 5:9; Ephesians 2:13; Colossians 1:20; Hebrews 9:14; 10:19; 1 Peter 1:18-20]

We read that the saints… ‘triumphed over him (the Evil One) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony’ [Revelations 12:11]. But in order for us to use this weapon against an attack of the enemy, we need to know what Jesus’ death has accomplished. There are resources available in the Power of the Cross page, and the blog post, Mighty is the Power of the Cross. Why not set aside time with the Lord to ask for fresh revelation?

Communion cup shared between two people, Illustrating the power of the blood of the Lamb.

When Jericho was threatened by attack from Israel, the prostitute, Rahab, kept herself and her family safe by displaying a red cord in her window [Joshua 2]; and the ‘Proverbs’ woman walked secure in the knowledge that her family were ‘clothed in scarlet’ [Proverbs 31:21], both references to the saving blood of Jesus that was to come. Having discovered what Jesus’ blood has purchased for us, we can learn from them by ‘covering ourselves and our loved-ones with His blood’ in prayer.

In addition, every time we ‘break bread’ we proclaim the power of the Lord’s death over our circumstances, and ‘the new covenant in His blood’ [1 Corinthians 11:25,26]. Each time we come to the Lord’s Table, let’s take the opportunity to make it a faith-filled declaration of His victory and protection.

PRAISE

The final powerful tool in our 'weapons of spiritual warfare' that I want to mention here is praise. Read the account of Jehosaphat's defeat of Moab and Ammon, noting that the King's first response to the threat was to 'turn his eyes on the Lord' and offer the situation to Him; and then it was to face his enemies with a heart full of praise.

'Give thanks to the Lord,
for his love endures for ever.’

As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.
[2 Chronicles 20:21, 22]

Why not take some time right now to follow Jephosephat's example. Turn your heart towards the Lord, lay all your concerns before Him, then begin to thank Him for all His blessings. We live in a fallen world where bad stuff happens, but God is good all the time, continually showers us with blessings, and promises never to leave us or forsake us [Hebrews 13:5]. We are told He is enthroned on, or inhabits the praises of His people [Psalm 22:3 NASB]; where He is enthroned anything can happen!

You can read more about the power of thanksgiving in CHOOSING GRATITUDE.

STRUGGLING TO TRUST GOD? THE LETTER BELOW MAY HELP...

MORE RESOURCES

Free from Fear blog post

Hope for the Hurting webpage

A selection of Bible verses to print out:

AND FROM AROUND THE WEB...

Please read this note on out-sourced resources:

*RHYTHMS OF GRACE

RECEIVE His wonderful provision
Using the personalised version of this psalm (see the PDF above), pray it section by section, over yourself and your loved-ones, daily.

*For an explanation of how the term, ‘rhythms of grace’, is used on this website, see INTRODUCTION TO RHYTHMS OF GRACE: A JOURNEY INTO REST AND PEACE.

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