I have fond childhood memories of Psalm 91. I would title this Psalm, "Homeland Security." The reason I have these memories is, before we would take any kind of family trip, my father would read Psalm 91. He called it "The Traveler's Psalm"--although it's way more than that.
We live in a broken-down world where dangers exist, and security is an issue. I live in Center City, Philadelphia. I live at the edge of Chinatown, and we live in a secure building. That means you can't just walk into this building. Next to each door is a screen that has the technology of facial recognition. So, if it doesn't recognize your face, it doesn't open the door. If that doesn't work, there's a keypad, and every resident has his own personal code. If the code doesn't work, then there's a directory; and you can look up in the directory, and you can, through that keypad, call somebody, and they can come down and let you into the building. I don't know if you've got what I'm saying, but a secure building means people have worked to make it hard for you to get into that building; and that's a picture of the world that we live in.
Psalm 91 is all about security.
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say to the Lord, "My refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust."
For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler
and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with his pinions,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
You will not fear the terror of the night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.
A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
You will only look with your eyes
and see the recompense of the wicked.
Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place--
the Most High, who is my refuge--
God is the only ever-present, always-faithful, unfailing, and never-to-be-defeated security system. Let me say that again: God is the only ever-present, always watchful, unfailing, and never-to-be-defeated security system. There is no safety like the safety that is provided for you by your Lord.
As I said before, we live in a fallen world. This world doesn't function the way that God intended, and so, there are dangers out there.
Now, I want to help you to understand Psalm 91. Is it a promise that you will never face trials or hardships and dangers in your life? No, it's not. God, for the reasons of our good and his glory, between the already of our conversion and the not yet of our homegoing, has decided that he would place us in a world that's broken.
God never promises to keep his children from trouble, but he promised to exercise his infinite power to keep his children in trouble. It doesn't mean he's going to keep you staying in trouble, but he meets you in the midst of trouble. There is nothing like his sustaining grace.
He gives strength to you in those moments. He gives wisdom to you in those moments; he fulfills his promises to you in those moments. So, what's the upside of this? As this Psalm says, "We do not have to be afraid of what comes our way because the Lord is with us, and he protects, and he keeps his own!"
The security of Psalm 91 is about God's sustaining and his keeping and protecting grace!
Questions for Personal Reflection or Group Discussion
1. What is your first reaction when you hear that God is your security? How does that make you feel in light of your previous experiences in life? Why might calling God the only "ever-present, always-faithful, unfailing, and never-to-be-defeated security system" feel contradictory to your previous life circumstances? Or, why might labeling God this way bring you overwhelming peace and comfort instead? Why is there no safety like the safety provided to you by the Lord?
2. Because we live in a fallen world, what are the specific dangers that exist and make you question God's loving security? Take a moment to write a few of those down. Now pause and pray honestly with God--admit that trusting him in the face of those dangers you wrote down is incredibly difficult to do. Now ask him to provide you with the grace to trust him in the midst of those specific dangers.
3. Why can it be a bit jarring to know that God never promises to keep his children from trouble? Why can it also be comforting to know that in his infinite power that God will meet you in the midst of trouble? How does this truth show you the kind of emphasis God places on a relationship with you?
4. Why don't we have to be afraid of what comes our way? Why is God's presence in trouble more weighty than keeping us from trouble?
Conversation Prompts to Use with Children
For Younger Children:
• When you go through a hard time, is it comforting to know that I will be here for you when things are difficult? Do you think I can always protect you from any bad or harmful thing? Can God? If so, why do you think he still allows difficult things to happen to us?
• What's wrong with this world? What's wrong with every human being? How do you think that "wrong-ness" impacts the world and other people around us?
• How can we as God's children learn to trust him even when hard or bad things happen in this world and to us? Does God promise to ever leave us or forsake us?--then let's pray that we grow to love and trust him more and more each day, even when times are difficult and confusing for us to understand.
For Older Children:
• If God is ever-present, always-faithful, unfailing, and never-to-be-defeated, why do so many bad things happen in this world and in our lives? Do you think the world currently functions the way that God intended it to function? If not, what does that mean for us? Do you think God promises that we will never face trials or hardships or dangers in our lives?
• How can we as Christians learn to trust God even when hard or bad things happen in this world and to us? Does God promise to ever leave us or forsake us? Why don't we have to be afraid of what comes our way? Why is God's presence IN trouble more important than God keeping us FROM trouble?
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