About a week ago, I woke up feeling fearful and agitated. The weight of all the pain, confusion, and evil in this world suddenly came crashing down on me, and I felt an overwhelming sense of fear. Yes, I have complete and utter faith in my Jesus, but I’m human. And sometimes that firm foundation gets a little mini-quake once in a while. When the enemy tries to rattle my cage there’s only one place I go when I need a little grounding….
To my knees.
I began praying, and I came to God as a child asking her Father to hold her because she was afraid. I asked for God’s peace that surpasses all understanding and for protection over myself and my family. In that quiet moment the words “Psalm 91” came to my mind. Obviously, I don’t have large chunks of scripture memorized so I had no idea what this meant. I reached over to the table next to my chair where we have our Bibles and started reaching for one. I began to grab the NIV translation, but I felt like the Lord impressed upon me, “No, not that one. This one…” And instead, I grabbed my Message translation.
I opened it up and read.
“You who sit down in the High God’s presence, spend the night in Shaddai’s shadow,
Say this: “God, you’re my refuge. I trust in you and I’m safe!”
That’s right—he rescues you from hidden traps, shields you from deadly hazards.
His huge outstretched arms protect you— under them you’re perfectly safe; his arms fend off all harm.
Fear nothing—not wild wolves in the night, not flying arrows in the day,
Not disease that prowls through the darkness, not disaster that erupts at high noon.
Even though others succumb all around, drop like flies right and left, no harm will even graze you.
You’ll stand untouched, watch it all from a distance, watch the wicked turn into corpses.
Yes, because God’s your refuge, the High God your very own home,
Evil can’t get close to you, harm can’t get through the door.
He ordered his angels to guard you wherever you go.
If you stumble, they’ll catch you; their job is to keep you from falling.
You’ll walk unharmed among lions and snakes, and kick young lions and serpents from the path.“
If you’ll hold on to me for dear life,” says God, “I’ll get you out of any trouble.
I’ll give you the best of care if you’ll only get to know and trust me.
Call me and I’ll answer, be at your side in bad times; I’ll rescue you, then throw you a party.
I’ll give you a long life, give you a long drink of salvation!”
I hadn’t even finished reading the whole passage before I burst into tears. Knowing a God that loves His children so much that He would give me, AGAIN, exactly what I needed to hear in that moment broke me. No matter how strong or how weak our faith is at any given moment, He is always faithful to reassure us that HE is sovereign, HE is in control, and we can have PEACE when we sit in His shadow.
Don’t ever underestimate His power, and the power that you can have over fear, anxiety, and evil, when you plug into the source.
Jesus.
