Safety of Abiding in the Presence of God
“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust.” Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence. He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you. Only with your eyes shall you look, and see the reward of the wicked.
Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; for He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone. You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, the young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.
“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.”
“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust.” Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence. He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler.”
Recently, various parts of the world have been convulsed by devastating earthquakes, forcing survivors to dig through the rubble seeking family members and friends. Buildings thought to be secure have crumbled. But when we seek refuge and shelter from God, we are assured that refuge will be earthquake proof and bomb proof. Fowlers catch birds by laying hidden snares-loops of string or wire to catch the birds’ legs once they step in the wrong place. After the COVID pandemic, nobody requires an explanation of a perilous pestilence; we are all witnesses. God’s truth will serve as our large shield and also as our buckler, a small more portable shield for repelling sudden attacks from strange locations. The idea here is that as long as we know God’s truth, it will protect our hearts and minds from all satanic attacks.
“You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you. Only with your eyes shall you look, and see the reward of the wicked.” At this point, you might well ask, “But what about believers slaughtered in Israel and Palestine and Ukraine? Surely those people who have died were just as sincere as I am.”
The key here is fear. In Romans 14:8 Paul tells his readers, “For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.” At the time, Paul had already been beaten, stoned, shipwrecked, and assaulted by robbers on many occasions. Paul was fully aware that he might eventually be killed by the Roman rulers. This statement was not made by some positive thinking feel-good guru, but by a man with a firm grasp on the dangers of his situation. Some people live in fear of things that will never happen to them; Paul lived in faith that God would take care of him, even if he died. Eventually, Paul was beheaded for his faith, but not before writing much of the New Testament. Saint John exhibited this same faith while exiled on the island of Patmos, a bleak place riddled by salt mines manned by prisoners of the state.
“Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; for He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.” The most famous person to quote these verses is Satan, who tried to use them to convince Jesus to throw himself 400 feet off Herod’s temple in Jerusalem. “Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ” (Matthew 4:7) While there are many instances of angelic deliverance, we are never to deliberately place ourselves in danger just to see if God will pull us out of it.
“You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, the young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot. “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.”
Does this mean that all believers will live a long time? Not necessarily. In the city of Tamale, Northern Region, Ghana, there is a statue at the Choggu roundabout to “Dr. Choggu,” Dr. David Abdulai. Dr. David Abdulai was a Christian physician who founded two charity clinics in Tamale and who had a special ministry to mentally ill and to street people. David was a very humble man who did not seek notoriety. By the time David died at the age of 65, he had helped thousands if not millions of poor and destitute. Although David’s life was cut short by cancer, God poured out His love through David, multiplying his effectiveness beyond all bounds.
APPLICATION: One of the slogans on small buses called tro-tros in Ghana is “Nowhere Cool!” No matter where you live in the world, you remain in danger. Several years ago, one of our Ghanaian friends flew back into the country after traveling to Europe. As our friend went home, he failed to realize that armed robbers were tracking him, noting his residence. Two weeks later, his family and he were attacked in their house, despite burglar proof and a watchman. It was when our friend’s daughter called on Jesus that the burglars scooped up what they could and fled. (Many of these people do juju before going to rob in hopes of protecting themselves. The Name of Jesus repelled them.)
We all need this psalm and the comfort it brings. Life does not come with guarantees, and we can be attacked just as our friend and his family were. But no matter what happens, we can still “abide under the shadow of the Almighty.”
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, please help all who read these words to trust You and to run to You as their Shelter. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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