Psalm 91: 9-16 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 91: 9-16 on biblegateway.com
Verse 9Because you have made the Lord your refuge, the Most High your dwelling place,
Verse 10no evil shall befall you, no scourge come near your tent.
Verse 11For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.
Verse 12On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.
Verse 13You will tread on the lion and the adder, the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot.
Verse 14Those who love me, I will deliver; I will protect those who know my name.
Verse 15When they call to me, I will answer them; I will be with them in trouble, I will rescue them and honor them.
Verse 16With long life I will satisfy them, and show them my salvation.
Devotion
There are so many promises in these words of Psalm 91. Because we abide in God, because we have made the Lord most high our dwelling place, no evil will come to us. And yet we know that suffering is all around us, that evil does threaten us, that even though we love God with all our might, bad things are going to happen. But here we are promised again that even in the midst of those things, our lives are held safe in God. When we call, God will answer; when we are in trouble, God is there. Our salvation, our life, our wholeness is made possible in God—no matter what comes to us, no matter what threatens to undo us, no matter what. In faith we trust that God is our refuge, God is our hiding place, our dwelling place, our sure and certain hope.
Prayer
Protecting God, give us the grace to find our rest in you. Give us the faith to find shelter in your mighty loving care. We pray that you would continue to bring us to your refuge again and again and spread your holy wings over us. Amen.