My son is taking a Shakespeare class this semester and needed the textbook. When we went to my parents this weekend, we went hunting and found one of my dad’s copies. In the process, I realized that my dad had collected all of my favorite author’s books. I wish we had a discussion about this, but I know that he bought them for me. It was just one of those moments, ya know? My next thought plunges me, bringing guilt and regret. Why do we do this to ourselves? If we could go back and change things, or if only I had said this, or… you fill in the blank. Our minds need protection and boundaries, guilt and regret are not a result of our freedom in Christ.
Looking back over my time with my Grandma as she died, the last day, she seemed to be hanging on. The chaplain asked me to let her know that it was okay to go. She was loved. She was going to be missed so much, but we were going to be okay. I read her Psalm 23. Over and over, telling her the names of the Lord in the passage, and then the breath left her body. It was one of those moments in my life I will never forget. The knowledge that she was present with the LORD as I sat there weeping over her. Jesus is always close, but in that moment, his presence with me and with her touched me deeply. I’ll never forget it.
Communication. I’m super thankful for the chaplain’s suggestion. This makes me think of when her first great grandchild, Noah, was about to be born. She saw and met all of her great children. She had a name that she wanted them to call her. And Noah had trouble with the name. So I asked him to say Nana, and he said it right away. She was transfixed and said yep, that is the name. We all had such a good laugh.
In Psalm 91, the writer gives us many names of God to draw comfort and knowledge. Saying the names of God, saying the name of Jesus are powerful weapons of comfort and protection. I’m going to take some time here and walk through the Psalm, beginning with verse one.
“Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.”
What I’ve have been discovering about life is the Most High’s shelter is his presence. His power over my life. His movement. Understanding my protection does not mean that storms will not come. Rather, the Most High moves in the storm to calm and bring rest to the child. It’s sitting in my house and watching the snow fall and collect on everything. I know I’m protected here. I’m protected as I go out.
“I will say of the LORD, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in who I trust.”
Shelter, refuge, fortress. Protection. This is our God. We can trust him. We can know that He surrounds us. I don’t know what happens in my dad’s mind now, but I am confident that the LORD is with him. I am confident that he brings my dad peace and rest. When he is staring at the wall, I wonder what God is singing over him. We did learn last night that he does not want me to sing to him. I asked if he would sing with us and he said, no, I wouldn’t like that. Mom and I dissolved laughing. (I’m not a singer, I just wanted to sing hymns with him.) Allow me also to explain that my dad has been a musician his whole life. Guitars all over the house when I was growing up. One time he got to jam with Peter Cetera. My claim to fame. He was in a band throughout college to afford it. So, I’ll have to hope that he enjoys listening to the LORD singing over him. Haha.
“He Himself will deliver you from the hunter’s net, from the destructive plague. He will cover you with His feathers; you will take refuge under His wings. His faithfulness will be a protective shield.”
Animal imagery. The rescue. Notice we are in the net. There are destructive plagues. There are terrors. The Psalmist knows the reality. He is our deliverer. He is our protector. I follow, along with millions, the eagles who come to nest? roost? in the same tree every year. The images of the eagles entire bodies and feathers cover the eggs even with inches of snow over them. This is survival. This is sacrifice. And Jesus has done so much more.
“You will not fear the terror of the night, the arrow that flies by day, the plague that stalks in darkness, or the pestilence that ravages at noon. Though a thousand fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand, the pestilence will not reach you. You will only see it with your eyes and witness the punishment of the wicked.”
We speak of the grace, mercy, and peace of God. This writer understood these gifts of God. Grace ~getting good that you do not deserve. Mercy~kindness instead of punishment. Peace~wholeness and rest even when things are great. All of these are available to us. No matter what hurricanes and tornadoes and floods surround us. His goodness, kindness, and rest are always here.
“Because you have made the LORD–my refuge, the Most High–your dwelling place, no harm will come to you; no plague will come near your tent. For He will give His angels orders concerning you, to protect you in all your ways. They will support you with their hand so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the young lion and the serpent.”
Now, the Psalmist declares that all of these protections are yours. Your decision to make the LORD your dwelling place cements this. But there is a tension here, right? Harm does come. People get diseases. People die. Let’s think of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane. The harm comes. He watches it come for him, but angels are sent to minister to him. There is provision in the most awful suffering anyone has ever endured. Jesus was not alone. He was never alone. He asked that the cup be removed and it was not, but the LORD’s presence never left him.
Keep coming back to the fact that the truth of Scripture, over and over, is that our trust in God’s presence and the provision of Jesus’ triumph over the grave. We are never alone. We will never suffer as Jesus suffered, but we will suffer nonetheless. Think of Abraham taking his child to the mountain to do as God asked him. Sacrifice your one and only son. Abraham knew:
” By faith, Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, ‘It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.’ Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from the dead.” Hebrews 11:17-19 NIV
Abraham made a conscious decision to trust God’s word. Trust and believe in God’s grace, mercy, and peace. This was credited to Abraham as righteousness. (Genesis 15:6) Friends, God will be with you and as I always say, HIS presence is your answer. We must assume, no matter the circumstances, that God is still working everything out for our good. I know for a fact that there is good now, even in the trials. There is a good that is coming. For now, I rest in the final verses of Psalm 91, knowing God’s protection is over it all.
“The LORD says, ‘I will save the one who loves me. I will keep him safe, because he trust in me. He will call out to me, and I will answer him. I will be with him in times of trouble. I will save him and honor him. I will give him a long and full life. I will save him.'” Psalm 91 NIV
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