Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 91:1-8
Ps 91:1-8
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust." Surely, he will save you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.
Luke 9:22-25
And he said, "The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life." Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?
It is easy for us to read a Psalm like this one and come away thinking that if we are faithful in our service to God, we will never face any real problems in life. Then when something bad does happen to us, we begin to wonder what we have done wrong or how we have been unfaithful to the Lord. This can be disheartening.
The Psalms are poetry, and this means that a lot of things are not literal – true, but not literal. Poetry uses metaphors, flowery words, and other things to make the point beautiful. This psalm is also a Messianic prophesy, which means that some of it may not even apply literally to the psalmist or to us. It is about Christ.
But the principle is true that when we serve God we do not need to worry or fret about what is happening to us because God is with us, and Jesus is walking by our side. What a friend we have in Jesus! There is nothing that we will face in life that he has not already faced and has overcome by his faith in God. The Lord is near!
My God, my Father in heaven, holy and reverend is your name in all the earth! I am so thankful for your love for me and for the constant watch and care you have over me. Thank you for Jesus who is my Savior, my brother, and my friend, who is always by your side and speaking to you on my behalf. I want to be just like him in my thoughts, in my attitude, in every action of life, and in trusting you in all things in my daily life. Empower me with your Spirit. Today I ask you to be with your people in Zimbabwe, in Malawi, and in Mozambique. I pray in Jesus’ name.
Robert
