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You Fearless

When you love and trust God with all your heart, you become fearless.

fearless

Psalm 91:5–6 (ESV)

“You will not fear the terror of the night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.”

Here is one of the sweetest promises in Psalm 91, in fact in all of Scripture. “You will not fear…”

Fear is torment. Ask someone who has had panic attacks. Fear is slavery, for we will do, avoid, or pay almost anything to escape what we fear. Fear locks up people alone, in a cold sweat, in their homes.

Fear, baseless fear, drove King Saul insane. He feared the most loyal man in his kingdom: David. Saul feared he would lose his throne to David, and so he descended into an expensive, paranoid, demon-intensified determination to kill him that lasted for years. Saul was the King, but he was a slave—to fear.

Fear of anything can drive you insane.

Fearless in four ways

If you live in the truths of Psalm 91:1–4, “you will not fear.”

Psalm 91:5–6 lists four categories of things we will not fear.

  • “The terror of the night”: This is out-of-control fear, middle-of-the-night panic attacks. Fear is worst in the middle of the night. Singer Frank Sinatra said, “Basically, I’m for anything that gets you through the night—be it prayer, tranquilizers or a bottle of Jack Daniels.”

You don’t need drugs or whiskey to get you through the night; you need the conviction that God is the Most High, the Almighty, your fortress and refuge, your God in whom you trust.

  • “The arrow that flies by day”: This is violence. This is the fear of people with guns, knives, explosives, nuclear weapons and the like. Here in Chicago people fear bullets and those who shoot them. Every week the news media report how many dozens of people were shot and killed over the weekend. I know people who have an app on their phone that shows where crimes have recently happened in the neighborhoods around them, and they check those apps regularly. But if a person believes that God’s faithfulness is a shield and buckler, he will not fear the arrow—or bullet—that flies by day.
  • “The pestilence that stalks in darkness”: This is killer disease. This is the fear of coronavirus, or any of a hundred other diseases or cancers that could snuff out your candle or mangle your life. How do newspapers, magazines, and TV shows get readers and viewers? They write headlines that tell us there is some disease to fear, and they are sure to have an audience. We live in a fear-driven society of people seeking safety, and most people are looking in the wrong place. If you believe God will deliver you from the deadly pestilence, you will take reasonable precautions but you will not fear.
  • “The destruction that wastes at noonday”: This is calamity and disaster, such as fire, earthquakes, floods, tornados. When God sent a flood big enough to wipe out all life on earth, he was able to preserve Noah and his family on the ark. No matter what the destructive force or its cause, when you truly believe your God is almighty and Most High, you will not fear even calamities as big as a hurricane.

The four fears in this verse are all extreme. Which means that dwelling in the shelter of the Most High dispels not just things you fear, but things that terrify. Faith in Almighty God can handle the worst.

Nothing is too big or small, from hurricanes to viruses, for our God to handle. You can get complete victory over fear. The secret is knowing and believing in God as he is described in Psalm 91.

Misplaced faith

Fear is the symptom of misplaced faith. Fear is strong faith in what can harm you, and little faith in God. The way to overcome fear is to reverse your faith and put it in God and his Word.

Correct knowledge of God vanquishes fear. If you are full of fear, it reveals that you do not know God as he is or fully believe God is who he says he is in Scripture. The key to fearless living is to believe the truths in Psalm 91:1–2. If you have fears, you need to memorize and meditate on verses 1 and 2 until you believe them without wavering. You need to read the Bible until all fear is gone. Whenever fear returns, read the Bible more. It sounds simplistic, but it is true.

Fear and focus

Psalm 91 conveys another way that knowing God rightly dispels fear. Fear becomes a problem when we are overly self-focused and deficiently God-focused. When my life is all about me, I will struggle with fear. When my life is all about God and his glory, I will not.

Psalm 91 describes a relationship with God that is the focus of your life: Dwelling in his shelter (Psalm 91:1), abiding in his shadow (Psalm 91:1), trusting in him (Psalm 91:2), holding fast to him in love (Psalm 91:14), knowing his name (Psalm 91:14), calling on him (Psalm 91:15).

Thus when you dedicate your life to obeying the first commandment of Jesus, to loving the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30) , you will have far less fears as an indirect result. The goal of your life becomes glorifying and knowing God rather than protecting yourself. Of course we want to have protection; we should have that natural desire, for God gives it to us for our welfare. But when you love God preeminently, self is no longer your obsession.

Adam and Eve had no fears prior to eating the forbidden fruit. The first thing that happened after they disobeyed God was they experienced fear. When God came to the garden for fellowship with Adam and Eve as usual, he called out for Adam, “Where are you?” Adam replied, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself” (Genesis 3:10).

Sin always leads to fear. Not just the grosser sins that come to mind when we think of sin, but the socially acceptable sins like self-centeredness and pride and the failure to worship and thank God in all things and for all things.

Love and courage

On the other hand, holiness brings health. A right relationship with God brings peace.

It was because David passionately loved God that he unhesitatingly stepped forward to fight Goliath.

It was because Mary Magdalene passionately loved Jesus that she courageously went to Golgotha when Jesus was crucified, and to his tomb on Sunday morning to embalm his body.

It was because the apostle Paul passionately loved Jesus that he courageously traveled from place to place boldly preaching the gospel even though he knew persecution awaited him wherever he went.

It was because the prophet Deborah knew and loved the God of Israel that she courageously accompanied Barak to Mount Tabor to battle the hordes of the Canaanites.

Live in God’s tent always (Psalm 91:1), and you will not fear.

Jeremiah 9:23–24: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.’” (ESV)

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You and Truth: Getting Help from the Spirit of Truth

There is good news for anyone who sincerely wants to know and follow the truth. You are not on your own trying to understand Jesus and the Bible. You are not left to your own intelligence and reasoning powers. Finding the truth is not like signing up for an advanced math class in college that may leave you feeling as though you are in over your head, as though you have jumped into the deep end, and now you may drown. No, when you choose to follow Jesus and the Bible, God gives you another helper, the third person of the Trinity, who is the Holy Spirit.

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The Shield of God’s Faithfulness

God’s faithfulness must be your conviction.

Psalm 91:4 (esv)

“His faithfulness is a shield and buckler.”

You will be unshakeable in your confidence in God’s protection when you are immovable in your conviction that God is faithful to his words and faithful to you.

Examples of faithfulness

A compass is faithful and true when the arrow correctly points north.

A plumbline is faithful and true when it correctly displays a vertical line.

A solar and lunar calendar is faithful and true when it correctly predicts the times of the rising and setting of the moon and sun.

A friend is faithful and true when she shops at the grocery and brings food to the home of her sick friend.

A husband is faithful and true when he remains sexually pure and keeps himself only for his wife all their married lives.

A company is faithful and true when it keeps its product guarantees.

A woman is faithful and true when she keeps her promises exactly as she stated them.

A man is faithful and true when he fulfills his vows to God.

John, the writer of the Book of Revelation, describes Jesus, at his return at the end of the age, in this way: “Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True” (Revelation 19:11).

Jesus has many names, and one of them is “Faithful and True.”

God’s faithfulness

God is perfectly faithful to his words. He is perfectly faithful to his promises. He is perfectly faithful to his righteousness and justice. Perfectly faithful to his people and covenants. Perfectly faithful to truth. For he is the Truth, and he cannot deny himself. He cannot lie.

Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away” (Matthew 24:35).

Until heaven and earth do pass away, as surely as day follows night, as surely as morning comes day after day, as surely as the sun rises and sets even though obscured by clouds, so it is certain that God is faithful.

“The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22–23).

The shield and buckler of faithfulness

Psalm 91:4 says your confidence in God’s faithfulness is like the large shield that a soldier carries into battle and like the buckler, which was a small shield the size of a frisbee used in hand-to-hand combat. With shield and buckler a soldier suffers no harm from a hail of incoming arrows or stones, or the thrust of a spear, or the stroke of a sword.

When you are convinced of God’s faithfulness, the sharp, swift arrows of fear cannot sink into your mind. Rebuffed by your certainty that the Lord is faithful and true, the arrows of fear fall to the ground.

When fear tries to take hold of your thoughts, it is time to meditate on the sure faithfulness of God. Meditate on the promises of his faithfulness as long as you need to until once again the conviction that God is faithful and true guard your heart like a shield and buckler.

You then rebuff those fears as easily as you hang up the phone on an unwelcome telemarketer.

Scriptures for meditation on God’s faithfulness

Deuteronomy 7:9 says, “Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations.”

Deuteronomy 32:4 says, “The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.”

1 Corinthians 10:13 says, “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”

Numbers 23:19 says, “God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?”

Psalm 89:33–35 says, “I will not remove from [King David] my steadfast love or be false to my faithfulness. I will not violate my covenant or alter the word that went forth from my lips. Once for all I have sworn by my holiness; I will not lie to David.”

Psalm 100:5 says, “The LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.”

Psalm 119:75 says, “I know, O LORD, that your rules are righteous, and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me.”

Psalm 143:1 says, “Hear my prayer, O LORD; give ear to my pleas for mercy! In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness!”

Isaiah 11:5 says, “[5] Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins.”

Isaiah 25:1 says, “O LORD, you are my God; I will exalt you; I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure.”

Isaiah 49:7 says, “Thus says the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One, to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nation, the servant of rulers: ‘Kings shall see and arise; princes, and they shall prostrate themselves; because of the LORD, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.’”

Lamentations 3:22–23 says, “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

Matthew 24:35 says, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”

1 Corinthians 1:9 says, “God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”

2 Corinthians 1:18 says, “As surely as God is faithful, our word to you has not been Yes and No.”

1 Thessalonians 5:23–24 says, “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.”

2 Thessalonians 3:3 says, “The Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.”

2 Timothy 2:13 says, “If we are faithless, he remains faithful—for he cannot deny himself.”

Titus 1:2 says Paul wrote to his fellow worker Titus “in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began.”

Hebrews 2:17 says, “He had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.”

Hebrews 6:18 says, “It is impossible for God to lie.”

Hebrews 10:23 says, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.”

Hebrews 11:11 says, “By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised.”

1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Revelation 19:11 says, “Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True.”

Jeremiah 9:23–24: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.’” (ESV)

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You and Truth, pt. 1

By Craig Brian Larson

When truth goes, all is lost. When you lose truth, you lose meaning and purpose, you lose right and wrong, you lose confidence, you lose hope, you lose the light.

But Jesus said, “For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” (John 18:37)

Here is how you can be sure you have the truth about what matters most in life.

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Psalm 91:4, Finding Refuge Under His Wings

God’s instinct is to protect his children.

Psalm 91:4, Finding Refuge Under His Wings

Psalm 91:4 (ESV)

“He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge.”

In this statement we find another metaphor, a comparison between some concrete thing in this world and our relationship with God.

Picture this. A mother duck and her six, week-old ducklings leave their nesting place for an awkward waddle to a nearby stream. Halfway there, a hawk circling overhead spots them. One of those tender ducklings would make a tasty breakfast. The hawk dives.

But the wary mother spots him. She quacks an alarm to her ducklings, and they hurry to her side, where she spreads her wings, her pinions, over them for protection. For the hawk to seize one of the ducklings, he must first deal with the mother. Her wings provide refuge.

Motherly protection

This is what God does for you. He has given you a picture that reveals his heart for you. The metaphors in the previous verses of Psalm 91—of a fortress and military refuge—have emphasized the strength and invincibility of his protection. That is not the intention of this metaphor, because bird feathers are not invincible, and a mother duck or robin does not pose much of a threat to a hawk. No, the purpose of this metaphor is to show God’s heart, the heart of a mother who protects her small, helpless young.

Parental love is fierce, instinctive, selfless, uncalculating.

Instinctive protection

The Bible tells the story of two mothers who appeared before King Solomon with one live baby. The two mothers lived in the same house,  and each claimed the baby as her own. The true mother explained to the King:

“Oh, my lord, this woman and I live in the same house, and I gave birth to a child while she was in the house. Then on the third day after I gave birth, this woman also gave birth. And we were alone. There was no one else with us in the house; only we two were in the house. And this woman’s son died in the night, because she lay on him. And she arose at midnight and took my son from beside me, while your servant slept, and laid him at her breast, and laid her dead son at my breast. When I rose in the morning to nurse my child, behold, he was dead. But when I looked at him closely in the morning, behold, he was not the child that I had borne.” (1 Kings 3:17–21, ESV)

Back and forth the two mothers argued. Finally King Solomon called for a sword and commanded the baby to be cut in two, with half going to one mother and half to the other.

The lying mother looked at the true mother vindictively and responded, “He shall be neither mine nor yours; divide him.”

The true mother, however, “because her heart yearned for her son,” said, “Oh, my lord, give her the living child, and by no means put him to death.”

Motherly love instinctively protects.

Protection that covers

Parental love is a covering love. “He will cover you with his pinions.” You are “under his wings.” Although God is an invisible spirit, he is real and he is covering you. Picture that—believe that—rest in that whenever you go to the grocery store in this season of coronavirus.

Jeremiah 9:23–24: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.’” (ESV)

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God Will Deliver You

What makes you worry? What do you fear? Whether it is large or small, God can deliver you.

God can deliver

Psalm 91:3

“For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence.” (ESV)

God can deliver from snares

We see one verb in this verse: “deliver.” God will deliver you. That is an action verb. He will take action to protect you by setting you free.

As you go through daily life, it is as though you were a bird flying here and there, up and down, landing on the ground and eating seeds, darting between tree branches. All that sounds beautiful to behold, but life for a bird is not carefree. Hidden on the ground at times are snares of various design. Hanging occasionally in the trees are fine-threaded, nearly invisible nets. And the culprit is the fowler.

A fowler hunts birds (fowl). Snares come in many kinds, but picture one simple variety I found on Youtube. A crate turned upside down is propped up by a stick. Tied to the stick is a trip wire. Placed beneath the crate is a pile of food delectable to the species of bird the fowler is hunting. Leading to the food is a bread trail of more food. You get the idea.

In Psalm 91:3, the fowler and his snare is a metaphor for any sort of trap you can encounter, natural and spiritual. There are financial traps of many kinds. Relationships with the wrong people. Sexual temptations. Fraudulent business deals and consumer scams. Spiritual deceptions, false doctrines, and false teachers. Calamities. Criminals on the sidewalk, at the door, around your home. Accidents. Demons. On and on.

Dozens of times or more every week God delivers you from them. Normally you do not even know you have been delivered. He has taken action to protect you before you even knew you were flying toward danger. He pulled the stick that held up the crate. He took down the birder’s net from between the trees before you flew there.

Sometimes for wise purposes known only to him, he allows you to walk into the snare and be trapped. Alarmed, you cry out to God for help. Then he comes on the scene and lifts the crate that held you captive before the fowler arrives to take you away.

Because the Lord is the Most High, the Almighty, your covenant Lord Yahweh, your refuge and fortress, your God in whom you trust, he will take action to deliver you.

God in action

In Psalm 18:1–19, David dramatically described the deliverances he had experienced:

“I love you, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies. The cords of death encompassed me; the torrents of destruction assailed me; the cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called upon the LORD; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears. Then the earth reeled and rocked; the foundations also of the mountains trembled and quaked, because he was angry. Smoke went up from his nostrils, and devouring fire from his mouth; glowing coals flamed forth from him. He bowed the heavens and came down; thick darkness was under his feet. He rode on a cherub and flew; he came swiftly on the wings of the wind. He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him, thick clouds dark with water. Out of the brightness before him hailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds. The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Most High uttered his voice, hailstones and coals of fire. And he sent out his arrows and scattered them; he flashed forth lightnings and routed them. Then the channels of the sea were seen, and the foundations of the world were laid bare at your rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of your nostrils. He sent from on high, he took me; he drew me out of many waters. He rescued me from my strong enemy and from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me. They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the LORD was my support. He brought me out into a broad place; he rescued me, because he delighted in me.”

God can deliver from coronavirus

Now that is God in action! He is not passive, dormant, or distant. The God of action is the one who protects and delivers you no less than King David.

Psalm 91:3 says that the Lord not only delivers you from the snare of the fowler, but also “from the deadly pestilence.” Pestilence is more than a cold, more than a tummy ache. Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary says pestilence is “a contagious or infectious epidemic disease that is virulent and devastating.”

Think Bubonic Plague, or Ebola. If God can deliver you from that, he can also deliver you from the coronavirus or some other potentially dangerous flu or disease. Psalm 91:3 is a promise for times like these. This is a promise from God that can deliver you not only from disease, but just as importantly—from fear of the disease.

God is big enough to handle microscopic viruses, germs, and parasites. He can protect you from the small as easily as from the large. The God who took down Goliath for David can take down invisible microbes for you. God, the Creator and Sustainer of all, works on the level of the smallest subatomic particles, controlling literally all things: germs, viruses, bacteria, quarks, electrons, protons, neutrons, atoms, molecules, elements.

He can deliver you from a single, harmful virus cell. Really, he can, and does. The reason you are alive and reading this is the Lord has delivered you countless times over the course of your life from harmful microbes of disease and pestilence without your even knowing it, and probably a few times when you were aware of being healed from some disease by his providential use of your immune system or some medicine. But all health and healing comes ultimately from the Lord—who delivers you.

He protects you by delivering you “from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence” (Psalm 91:3).

Jeremiah 9:23–24: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.’” (ESV)

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Why You Can Trust God to Protect You

No one is more trustworthy than the Lord.

trust God

“I will say to the LORD, ‘My refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.’”

Psalm 91:2 (ESV)

Like verse 1, verse 2 is especially important because it lays the foundation for all the promises that follow. According to this verse, who is God for us?

He is Yahweh

When God first appeared to Moses at the burning bush, he revealed his name Yahweh:

[13] “Moses said to God, ‘If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, “The God of your fathers has sent me to you,” and they ask me, “What is his name?” what shall I say to them?’ [14] God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM.’ And he said, ‘Say this to the people of Israel: “I AM has sent me to you.”‘ [15] God also said to Moses, ‘Say this to the people of Israel: “The LORD [Hebrew YHWH], the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.” This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.’” (Exodus 3:13–15, ESV).

The ESV Bible note for Exodus 3:15 says, “The word LORD, when spelled with capital letters, stands for the divine name, YHWH, which is here connected with the verb hayah, ‘to be’ in verse 14.”

Hebrew scholars transliterate and pronounce the divine name YHWH as Yahweh.

Our LORD is a person who gave us his covenant name, not just his title or role, so we could have a close, personal relationship with him. The difference between “God” and “Yahweh” resembles the difference between someone calling me “Pastor” and someone calling me “Brian.”

Both “I am” and “Yahweh” are linked here with God’s covenant action to deliver his people. We can trust God to protect us because we are in a blood covenant with him. His covenant is his bond, a bond he is sure to keep.

He is your refuge and fortress

The writer emphasizes God’s protection by using two similar, visual words that convey the same idea. God is our refuge and fortress.

The basic picture is of massive, thick, high walls surrounding you that no foe can penetrate. The fortresses seen in books and movies sometimes have a moat surrounding them, or they sit atop a hill or mountain. There may be double walls, each 10-feet thick, and double doors, barred shut with thick beams. Archers atop the walls rain down arrows upon attackers. Other defenders pour boiling oil or heave large stones over the wall. Citadels standing higher even than the wall rise at key positions providing additional defense.

Although God is an invisible spirit, he is nevertheless a refuge and fortress of infinite ability, more impenetrable than any fortress in this world. He can handle your enemies.

Isaiah 36–37 tells the story of how the superpower Assyria came against King Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem with 185,000 soldiers. The commander of the Assyrian hordes called out to the people on the wall and threatened them.

He boasted, “Come now, make a wager with my master the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to set riders on them. How then can you repulse a single captain among the least of my master’s servants?” (Isaiah 36:8–9)

He tried to terrify them, warning that they were doomed “to eat their own dung and drink their own urine.”

The King of Israel brought the dire situation to the prophet Isaiah. The prophet announced:

“‘Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the king of Assyria: He shall not come into this city or shoot an arrow there or come before it with a shield or cast up a siege mound against it. By the way that he came, by the same he shall return, and he shall not come into this city, declares the LORD. For I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David.’

“And the angel of the LORD went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. And when people arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies. Then Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and returned home and lived at Nineveh. And as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, Adrammelech and Sharezer, his sons, struck him down with the sword” (Isaiah 37:33–38).

My point in using this illustration is not that God is going to kill your enemies, but that he has unlimited ability and ways to protect you. God is your refuge and fortress.

He is your personal God

“my God” (Psalm 91:2)

Being able to refer to God using the pronoun “my” makes all the difference in the world. God is Almighty, but what good is that to you if he is not your God, if he does not know you personally or care about you?

Notice in this declaration of faith how many times David, in his time of need, uses the pronoun my:

“The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my savior; you save me from violence. … In my distress I called upon the LORD; to my God I called. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry came to his ears” (2 Samuel 22:2–3, 7).

David could not see God, just as you cannot, but he had no doubt that the Lord was nearer to him than any human and acted personally to defend him. If you have faith in Jesus, God knows and protects you personally in the same way.

Moreover, we are talking here about God himself being your bodyguard, not a big guy with a gun in his pocket, who may be in the bathroom when you need him. We are talking about the Creator and Sustainer of everything, the King, the Most High, the Almighty, who never slumbers. He is your personal God.

He is trustworthy

“in whom I trust” (Psalm 91:2)

Two sentences later the writer brings up the all-important subject of God’s faithfulness: “his faithfulness is a shield and buckler” (Psalm 91:4).

You cannot trust someone who is unfaithful. We can trust God because he takes faithfulness seriously. He is perfectly faithful, absolutely, always faithful. He cannot be unfaithful, never has been even once, never will be. He glories in his own faithfulness—like a man who takes pride in keeping his promises—and therefore delights in those who trust him. Trust is of ultimate importance to God.

When you become convinced of that, you can trust him to protect you.

Trust God to protect you

Psalm 9:10 says, “Those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you.” (ESV)

Psalm 20:7 says, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.”

Psalm 22:9 says, “You are he who took me from the womb; you made me trust you at my mother’s breasts.”

Psalm 31:14 says, “I trust in you, O LORD; I say, ‘You are my God.’”

Psalm 37:3, 5 says, “Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness…. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act.”

Psalm 40:4 says, “Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie!”

Psalm 44:6 says, “Not in my bow do I trust, nor can my sword save me.”

Psalm 52:8 says, “But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God. I trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever.”

Psalm 56:3–4, 10–11 says, “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?… In God, whose word I praise, in the LORD, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?”

Psalm 62:8 says, “Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.”

Psalm 115:9–11 says, “O Israel, trust in the LORD! He is their help and their shield. O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD! He is their help and their shield. You who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD! He is their help and their shield.”

Psalm 118:8–9 says, “It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes.”

Psalm 119:42 says, “I trust in your word.”

What is trust?

Trust is belief that transcends understanding.

When we trust God, we walk by faith, not by sight.

When we trust God, we believe that he is for us even if circumstances go against us.

When we trust God, we believe his words even when circumstances deny them.

When we trust God, we refuse to fear and doubt.

When we trust God, we patiently endure for as long as necessary to see the answer to our faith.

When we trust God, we know he is always working for good even when everything seems bad.

When we trust God, we do not need to understand, in particular we do not need to understand why.

In sum, you can trust in God for protection because he is God, your God, the one who gives you his covenant name and promises to be your refuge and fortress. You are safe and secure in him.

Jeremiah 9:23–24: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.’” (ESV)

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Abiding in the Shadow of the Almighty God

When we know our protection comes from Almighty God, we have nothing to fear.

Almighty God

In this series on God’s protection in Psalm 91, we come to the second half of verse 1.

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91:1).

Why can you feel safe at all times and in every circumstance? Because God is “the Almighty.”

God Almighty

That is quite a title to carry. How would you like to be able to legitimately call yourself almighty? Because we cannot, this world is a dangerous place, and if we think about it at all, we feel it.

But God truly is Almighty. He is more than able to protect us. He is so mighty that he can do not only the impossible, but the inconceivable. God could even stop the sun and moon in their tracks and leave them poised in the sky as the clock ticks. One hour with the sun and moon locked in place… two hours…five hours. In fact, he once did that for a full day.

Locked in place

Here is how it happened. When Israel invaded the Promised Land under Joshua’s leadership, defeating Jericho and eventually Ai, the king of Jerusalem recruited four other kings to join forces with him to attack Israel.

God told Joshua, “Do not fear them, for I have given them into your hands. Not a man of them shall stand before you.” Israel made a lightning march through the night and fell suddenly upon the five kings and their armies. God threw Israel’s enemies into a panic. Israel struck them down, and they fled. As they fled, great hailstones fell from the sky, killing more enemies than did the swords of Israel. It was a rout.

Since God had commanded Israel to wipe out these evil nations completely because they were under his judgment, Joshua did not want a single enemy soldier to survive the battle. For that to happen, he needed sunlight, for the day was nearing its end. What Joshua did next could only have been done by a man who knew beyond doubt that God is the Almighty.

Joshua 10:12–13 says, “At that time Joshua spoke to the LORD in the day when the LORD gave the Amorites over to the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, ‘Sun, stand still at Gibeon, and moon, in the Valley of Aijalon.’ And the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, until the nation took vengeance on their enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jashar? The sun stopped in the midst of heaven and did not hurry to set for about a whole day.”

Inconceivably almighty

Knowing astronomy as we do today, that story may stretch your faith to the breaking point. Did the earth instantly stop rotating? That is only half of the miracle. Did the moon also instantly stop orbiting the earth? The physics of what happened boggle the mind, and no doubt, secular astronomers would mock the notion that this actually happened. It is truly inconceivable.

But only for our puny understanding and strength. The God who had the power to create the universe and all its heavenly bodies, and to uphold continually each particle in the universe with his powerful word, who is not restrained by any “law” of physics because these “laws” are simply a description of how God personally controls every particle and wave of his universe at all times, making every particle do exactly what he wants when he wants—this God is able to do not only the impossible, but the inconceivable.

This is what Scripture means when it says that God “is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20, ESV). Another translation says: “All glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” (NLT)

Let that sink in. It is not hyperbole. God is able not only to do more than we can imagine; he can do infinitely more than that. “Infinitely” is a large amount! God is the Almighty! He is infinitely Almighty. God can do not only the impossible; he can do not only the inconceivable; he can do infinitely more than the inconceivable!

The Lord can do the infinitely inconceivable. He can instantly freeze every single particle and wave in the universe in its place, in its state, unchanged for a day, while continuing normal physics within the bubble of planet earth and its atmosphere. Then resume the forces of light, gravity, motion, and thermodynamics in the universe as though nothing unusual had happened. Whooooooooooooaaaaaahhh.

That could be how God accomplished this miracle. Perhaps not. But one thing is sure: the sun and moon stood still in the sky for a day. It happened.

Overshadowed by God Almighty

God Almighty is the one who protects you. It is no strain for him to do so. He does not need to take a deep breath and work himself into a hyper-focused state like a chalked-up Olympic weightlifter hoisting a barbell of record amount. He is easily able to protect you from any virus, plague, criminal, or economic downturn.

Our focus Scripture says you can “abide in the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91:1). You can be in his “shadow.” If you stay close to him, if you “dwell in the shelter of the Most High” (v. 1), he overshadows you with his almighty protection, like a high cliff shades a desert traveler from the burning sun. You can “abide” there. You do not have to come and go from his shadow.

He is near, and he is God Almighty. You can trust him.

Jeremiah 9:23–24: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.’” (ESV)

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Dwelling in the Shelter of the Most High

The Most High, the one who protects you, towers over anything you fear.

most high

We live in perilous times. Without faith in God, there is much to fear, but not so for people who know their God.

To know God fully is to be fearless. To know him fully is to trust him. Full knowledge of God drives out fear.

In perilous times we need full understanding of his protection. Psalm 91 gives that understanding. Therefore we will meditate on it for a few months, establishing its truths in our hearts. It is our new theme.

Psalm 91:1

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.”

These are more than beautiful words. When you memorize, repeat, and believe them, they will establish your soul.

Who is God? He is the Most High.

The Most High

I live four blocks from Willis Tower. It has 110 stories. My residence has 49 stories. It is tall until you compare it with Willis. In Chicago, the Willis Tower is the most high. It surpasses and excels all others. Towering over all, overshadowing all, looking down on all, it is supreme.

God is the Most High. Nothing that seems big, tall, and threatening to us threatens him. He is like the Willis Tower high and tall, but not with smaller skyscrapers clustered around him; rather, with one-level buildings around him, or with ant hills around him.

No created thing can cancel or neutralize him.

God towers over disease, over coronavirus. He towers over Satan, demons, and darkness. He towers over rioters, looters, and thugs. He towers over all people.

He towers over life and death, over heaven and hell, over past and future, over time and eternity.

He is the Most High.

The Most High over Egypt

When God took his people Israel out of slavery in Egypt, he displayed his glory as the Most High warrior. Egypt was the superpower of the day, with well-trained soldiers, chariots, and horses. Egypt had its magicians, secret arts, and sorceries. Arrogant, hardhearted Pharaoh had his royal throne and many servants. And Egypt had its gods, thousands of gods, whom they worshiped instead of the true God. Through the eyes of flesh, Egypt was a towering nation greatly to be feared.

Then God came to deliver his people and judge their oppressors, sending one plague after another: drinking water changed to blood, teeming frogs, biting flies, swarming gnats, pummeling hail, painful boils, green-eating locusts, pitch darkness, the death angel striking the firstborn. Each plague brought proud Pharaoh, his people, and their false gods low. No matter their human and satanic might, they could not resist the Most High with his limitless power over the forces of nature.

And when Pharaoh drove Israel out of Egypt, even the Red Sea could not resist the Most High. The Towering One parted the waters, and Israel walked through on dry land with a wall of water on its left and a wall of water on its right, held by invisible hands. And when Egyptian soldiers tried to follow, the Most High released the mighty waters to destroy his enemies.

Dwelling in his shelter

In the New Covenant era inaugurated by Christ, the Most High seeks not to destroy his enemies but to save them. But he is still the Towering One. He crushes Satan; principalities, powers, and authorities of darkness; and demons under his feet. He punishes and brings to nothing great nations that persist in evil. He controls the forces of nature. He defeats the sin and strongholds of our souls.

At the tomb of Jesus he stood as the Most High and conquered an enemy far greater than Pharaoh and Egypt. There the Lord towered over death. In the human flesh of Jesus he reversed its power, and for the first time in history released in Jesus the power of an eternal, resurrection body.

“‘O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:55–57, ESV)

Towering over fear

Because he is Most High, we can dwell in his shelter. For the human heart, God is like a home, a dwelling. He is a shelter from storm, chaos, disease, evildoers, and lawless ones. We need not—and must not—fear them, for whomever we fear becomes most high over our thoughts, emotions, and actions.

Now and always, remember that God is the Most High. You can dwell safely in the protection of that shelter.

Jeremiah 9:23–24: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.’” (ESV)

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October 2020 Newsletter

Hey,

In August I celebrated my 25th anniversary as pastor of Lake Shore Church in Chicago. I thank God for the joy it has been to work with the Lord and his people!

25 years!

In August I officiated the wedding of one of our church members to a man living in the upper peninsula of Michigan. Everyone in our church enjoyed getting out for the celebration (held in Chicago), especially after months of being cooped up in apartments.

With Stephen and Sujatha

Next week we begin a new theme: What Psalm 91 teaches about God’s protection.

I am getting the technology and skills together to post audio now and then of my messages. Here is the sermon I gave on October 4th: When Victory Looks Like Defeat.

When Victory Looks Like Defeat, by Craig Brian Larson

My favorite post of the last two months is What It Means to Be in Covenant with God. All who sincerely believe in Jesus Christ are in covenant with God. God obligates himself to his covenant partners with many promises, and in turn he requires certain things from them. Please share the link with someone you care about.

Seeking a Publisher

This morning I sent a book proposal to my literary agent for a book on holiness. Pray the Lord will open the door with a publisher. Our nation needs the holiness of God!

Knowing God

Knowing God and his ways upgrades your life. He gives meaning and significance to all you are and do.

Knowing God and his ways does not happen by accident. You must pursue it, pursue him. It takes time, meditating on the Bible, praying, reading material such as my blog that has the specific goal of helping you understand God and his ways better. But there is nothing—nothing—you can do that is more important, that will enrich your soul in every way both in this life and forever. Make it a priority. He is the ultimate everything!

May the Lord teach you his ways!

Craig Brian Larson

Jeremiah 9:23–24: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.’” (ESV)