Words of Truth

In Psalm 91:14-16 we have a beautiful account of God's faithfulness to protect a saint and lover of His Being that has made the Lord of Heaven is love and refuge.  The Lord, even at the latest hour is able to save those who have put their trust in Him.  Let's read the words of these verses with great care, “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.”

In the very first part of this reading you are pressed immediately with this word, “because”.  In verses 9 & 10 of this same Psalm, the writer reveals another reason why the Lord is going to deliver those who love Him, “Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you, nor shall a plague come near your dwelling.”

Do you really believe that the Living God will deliver you from any form of calamity in times of great adversity?  Are you confident that if a horrible plague were to visit your community, where almost everybody dies, that your God would pass over your house and keep you and your family in His safe care?  Are you that sure and confident in your obedience to his prescribed will?  To His call upon your life?  Have you surrendered all plans and your self-will to Him?

What if tanks were rolling through the center of your town?  What if an evil army marched through your neighborhood shooting at will all those that were alive?  Would you trust the Lord to keep you alive?  Would He be the anchor of Your soul?  This is not a play or a movie, this our reality, it will happen and we must get ready in our hearts and minds to face it!

Ps. 91 was written to comfort God's people in times of great adversity.  We just can't fathom that these kinds of adversities will hit the shores of America, our inability to fathom their occurrence is no measure of their impending reality.   Soon, the many of us who have lived in times of peace and prosperity, will see, with much, shock and horror, so much devastation, more then our eyes and hearts will be able to bear.   Our bleeding hearts will weaken and totter, unless the Lord is at our right hand, maintaining our life, we will fall prey to whatever help shows up on our doorstep.

If your faith is not bound up in the Lord's care, you will “give up” on the God of your fathers and succumb to the powers of the “gods” of this age.  If your heart is fainting because you have no faith in an invisible yet very real Savior, your goose will be cooked in the day of adversity.  

We must take heart and learn from this Psalm the kind of people that will experience salvation in the day of adversity.  “Because” we have made the Lord “our refuge” in the good times, and “because” we have loved the Lord in the days of prosperity, we will be saved from trouble in the days to come.   

We must dwell in God's heavenly sanctuary today!  We must love Him supremely today!  We must cling to Him with all our strength today!  Our trust must be exclusively in Him, this claim must be tested by a very serious self examination.  If we take the time to struggle with this challenge, when our world spins out of control, we will be protected by the God of our “now” and very “real” life!

To dwell in the secret place of the most high is stay close to always.  To walk with Him and talk with Him, to take all your burdens and lay them at His feet.  To speak of His Grace and His Love.  To know His heart.  To love His Law and His commandments.  Jesus said to His disciples, “if you love Me, keep My commandments.”

Call upon the Lord of the heights, and He will answer you in your hour of need.  Call upon the God of Israel, and He will come to your rescue.  Because you made Him your refuge, your dwelling place.  Because you have made Him “your” love, He will deliver you in the day of adversity. 

Recount all His many blessings to you this day and worship Him.  Walk in His paths of love and peace.  Know His compassion for those who are hurting and in need of His grace.  Be like  His Son, Jesus today, and you will be “secure” from all kinds of evil.  Let Him hold you safe in His arms.

In Christian Love,

Jonathan