Psalm 91: Security in God’s protection

Are you feeling a little shaky right now with all the uncertainty of our culture pressing in on you from all sides? Covid-19 shut downs, positive tests, quarantines, isolation, masks, racial disparities and the ensuing unrest and violence, anger on social media, crazy weather and horrific fires, clashing political conventions, passions, and fears, tensions at home, at work, among friends…even while shopping, gassing up the car, or hanging at the park?

I have found some solace in all of this, a refuge from oppression and intimidation. It’s in the Bible—Psalm 91—and the entire chapter focuses on one thing: God is willing and ready to protect you—yes, YOU—in all kinds of danger.

I’ll let you in on a secret. I keep a pile of laminated Psalm 91 index cards handy so I can grab one and go. I have them in my car, my purse, I take them on trips, but mostly I carry one in my hand when I go for a walk. I have fresh Psalm 91s, used Psalm 91s, and raggedy Psalm 91s. I like the raggedy ones the best. They have a good feel to them.

Several years ago, maybe in 2015 or so, I sensed the Lord telling me to pray Psalm 91 a thousand times. When I shared this with someone, they said, “OK. Pray it three times a day and you can be finished in a year.”

That’s not how I approach things. When I try to race through Bible reading just to say I’ve done it, I honestly don’t retain much. I like to squeeze the juice out of what I’m reading; I like to interact with what I’m reading; and I like to tear into it.

It’s kind of like when I went to Grenada on a mission trip back in the ‘80s. Kim, a Canadian full-time missionary there, picked up the local way of eating chicken. She ate each piece with great gusto, but unlike me—who when once the meat was pretty well picked off the bone, I’d set it down and reach for a fresh one—she would gnaw and chew every last tidbit of meat and gristle off that bone. Then, without hesitation, she would crack that bone and go after the marrow! She’d worked that chicken bone until there was nothing left but splinters!

That’s how I’m happiest with my Bible time. If I go for reading large amounts, I know I’ll miss out on so much. I go for the meat, the morsels, the tidbits, the gristle, and then crack that Bible “bone” to go in after the marrow. I may not cover the whole Bible in a year, but I sure get as much out of what I do read as I can.

Anyway, I’m somewhere in the four-hundreds in praying this Psalm. As you can see, I don’t do this every day, and sometimes I forget to tally when I do pray it, but nonetheless, Psalm 91 has become a dear friend to me.

As I walk my neighborhood and pray this Psalm, I often like to emphasize one word at a time in a verse. For example, take the shortest verse in the Bible, “Jesus wept.” Here’s how my “emphasis method” would go:

• “JESUS wept.” I’d ponder the fact that JESUS HIMSELF did the weeping. I would think about how the Lord HIMSELF had such deep, human emotions, and because of that, He has no problem understanding my sorrow or anguish.
• “Jesus WEPT.” Now I would consider the fact that He actually WEPT. I’d think about salty tears falling down His face, and I’d be pulled into His moment, His feelings, His sorrow. I would find myself wanting to comfort Him.

As I walk and pray Psalm 91, I am frequently surprised by new ways of thinking about one verse or another. Of course, there are also times when I realize I haven’t listened to anything I’ve just prayed. When this happens, I simply start again where I first trailed off in my mind.

I’ve been sensing a leading by the Holy Spirit for a few months to start blogging about the amazing protective provisions God has revealed in this Psalm. I just need the boost to get started…and telling YOU I plan to do this should light the fire I need to get this meal cooking.

Please pray for me! I am asking for Holy Ghost get-up-and-go to grip and propel me so I can fulfill this task which I know He’s given me.

Thanks!

Dorothy

© 2020, Dorothy Frick