Psalms 91: Peace And Protection In A Pandemic

One of my heroes of the faith, Dr Ed Cole famously said, “What we believe about God will either attract us to Him or repel us from Him.” There may not be a more profound statement.

The greatest battle over your life is what you believe about God and what you believe God believes about you.

That is where the best-selling book (and maybe the most under read book of all time) comes to help us.

What we must appreciate is that the Bible is not primarily a book of do’s and dont’s, the Bible is first and foremost a declaration of who God really is and who God says you really are.

There are two voices over your life: The voice of your Accuser (the devil) and the much greater voice of your Advocate (Jesus Christ). The stakes couldn’t be higher. The voice that you and I choose to tune in to, believe, and dominate our thoughts and actions is literally the difference between heaven and hell in this life and in the life to come…

How do we know the difference? In a nutshell, the voice (the thoughts, feelings and emotions) that pushes you away from God is NEVER the voice of God!

That is why I submit to you that the greatest investment you and I can make in our life is spending time in the word of God and establishing the voice of God as the greatest voice in your life.

For the past 874 days, by the grace of God, I have done just that: challenged myself to start each day spending time in the greatest book ever given to mankind by God Himself, the inspired, inerrant, encouraging, powerful, word of God!

So let’s dig in to one of the most well known Psalms that speaks to us about who and where this God is in the midst of a pandemic that not only encompasses the deadly physical virus, but also speaks to the crippling personal pandemic of fear, isolation, and helplessness that many are facing…

Psalm 91 begins:

“Those who LIVE IN THE SHELTER of the Most High WILL FIND REST in the shadow of the Almighty…

Here is a great truth: You and I are as close to God as we choose to be.

We are now in the wonderful Christmas season, a spiritual game changing reminder that all the barriers have been torn down between us and living in the shelter of the Most High God because of God’s great love and desire for closer relationship with you and I: “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16) But the next verse is the kicker! “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world but that through Him the world might be saved” (John 3:17)

Psalms 91 is an encouragement to not just visit the presence of God, but to make a decision to live in the presence of God and there you will find rest.

Many times Morris Cerullo would remind us that God’s peace, God’s power, God’s provision does not travel through the repetition of words, incantations or formulas but through relationship!

Psalms 91 is a call to the reward of connection and relationship with God, which is really the message of the entire Bible.

God created us to find fulfillment in staying connected with Him and not just visiting Him every now and then.

Peace comes when we make an investment in intentionally fixing our thought life on God and God’s word. Isaiah 26:3 says, “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!”

Psalms 91 continues…

“This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust Him”

God wants to be our first resort and not our last resort! Do we run first for refuge to things that will eventually fail us (relationships, food, alcohol, money, drugs, our comfort zone) or do we run first to the One that will never fail or forsake us and longs to show Himself strong on our behalf?

Psalms 91 continues: “For He will rescue you from every trap and PROTECT YOU FROM DEADLY DISEASE”

Yes, God promises protection from deadly disease to those that make Him their refuge. Does that mean we don’t wear masks, social distance, wash hands in the midst of COVID-19? Of course not.

The devil quoted from this very Psalm in his temptation of Jesus, encouraging Him to throw Himself from a mountain because God promises to give His angels charge over us. Jesus replied it is also written, thou shall not tempt the Lord your God!

The promises of God are not a license to live as spiritual kooks! Morris Cerullo reminded us many times that we live in two worlds: the natural world and the spiritual world. There are laws in both worlds, that when respected bring peace, protection and power.

Jeri and I do our best to follow all the covid guidelines. Four or five times during these past few months we discovered after the fact that we had spent significant time with someone that later advised us that they were unknowingly covid positive. Each time we went to be tested. Thank God, each time the results were negative.

God promises those that find shelter in Him to protect you from evil disease. Does that mean precious, godly people that somehow have contracted covid are not connected to God? Of course not. God is faithful to show Himself strong in many different ways on behalf of those who love Him…

Psalms 91 continues: “He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings.

His faithful promises are your armor and protection.”

That is why it is such a great opportunity to spend more time in the word of God, so that we can truly KNOW for ourselves what God has promised us, since the above verse declares His promises are for our protection. Faith begins at the point that the will of God is known and understood. We can’t have faith for that which we don’t know to be the will of God.

Psalms 91 continues: “You will not be afraid of the terrors of the night, nor the arrow that flies in the day. Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness, nor the disaster that strikes at midday. Though a thousand fall at your side, though ten thousand are dying around you, these evils will not touch you…

“If you make the Lord your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter, no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your home.”

God is not a God of fear, He is a God of love. He does not use fear to motivate us, His love is what He wants to motivate us to run to Him for refuge and relationship. The Bible declares that God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind!” (2 Tim 1:7)

“For He will order his angels to protect you wherever you go. They will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.”

Angels are real. Angels are all around us. Every child of God has a personal angel. One of the names of God is the Lord of Hosts (Angels). He commands His angels and they move to protect you, keep you, help you. He also gives us power over the powers of darkness, demons, which are angels under Satan’s authority…

“You will trample upon lions and cobras; you will crush fierce lions and serpents (demons) under your feet!

“The Lord says, “I will RESCUE those who love me. I will PROTECT those who trust in My name. When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them. I will REWARD them with a long life and give them my salvation.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭91:1-16‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Here’s what I want to say in closing. God is not your punisher, God is your rewarder.

The Bible says that there are two things we must believe about God. That He is. And that He is a REWARDER of those that diligently seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6)

God wants you and I to be motivated to know Him and to pursue Him not out of fear of punishment but out of the incredible opportunity to live in the REWARD of His many amazing promises for your life, your family, your finances, your health, your future, and so much more…

2000 years ago Jesus took the punishment you and I deserved, once and for all.

Is God a corrector? Yes. But a punisher? No. God is not looking for ways to short circuit your destiny and His blessings for your life, God is looking for ways to FULFILL His great destiny for your life.

I pray this Psalm will encourage you to make a greater investment in your relationship with the God of peace, protection and power that is for you, is on your side and who wants to be your refuge, your peace even in a pandemic and beyond!