The Apostle Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:1, ”But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.” Paul prophesied this many years ago, but he was talking about the last days being perilous. When he wrote the words last days, the Greek tells us when it is. The Greek words basically mean at the end of the line. When my family lived in the USSR, we would take a train over night to Moscow. When we got to Moscow, we were told that everyone had to get off because this was the end of the line. We are living at the end of the line. The Greek word for difficult means hard and even violent times. We must be aware of the difficulties but without fear.
Fear is one of strongest tools of the enemy. All that is going on in this world does not change God, His love for us or His covenant with us. The aim of fear is to change the way we perceive God. It can get us to doubt His love and protection. Do not allow him to do that. Instead, we need to find our hiding place in God. Corrie Ten Boom found it in Him many years ago during the Nazi occupation of Europe and we need to know that He is our hiding place today.
David found his hiding place as he wrote one of my favorite psalms, Psalms 91. Scholars believe that David wrote this after he had sinned against God by taking registration of the people and was confronted by the prophet Gad. (2 Samuel 24: 10-14) Gad had prophesied a famine or a plague over the land. That sounds like what is happening with Covid 19. David knew he was in trouble. Instead of running from God, David ran toward Him. In that situation, we believe he penned one of the most powerful of all of his psalms. It has brought comfort and peace to millions of people worldwide. So, join me as we take a quick look at some of the verses in this psalm.
David started by affirming his position in God. “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.” David is telling himself where he lives or where he has his habitation. David knew his place in God. He knew the covenant that God had made with him. David had many experiences with God at this time in his life. He had killed a lion and a bear. He had killed Goliath and had destroyed the Philistine army. He had successfully hidden for years from a demon possessed king who was trying to kill him. David knew where his hiding place was.
The next thing that David did is he began to speak. He said, “I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!” I have been in many scary places in my life. I lived through tornados, earthquakes, and volcanoes. I have been threatened with guns and knives. One thing that I find myself doing in these situations is quoting this verse. There is something about speaking the Word of God out loud that brings comfort and raises faith. That is what David did. When people were dying all around him, he spoke. He spoke not of God’s wrath but of God’s hiding place. He said God is my refuge and my fortress. Even though bad things were happening around him, David makes this huge and faith filled statement; He is My God, in whom I trust. When we face storms, we have a choice. We can either run away from our hiding place or run toward it. What we say will determine which one we choose.
The next thing that David did was to tell what God’s reaction would be in the situation. “For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.” (Psalms 91:3-4) David knows that God would deliver. But notice David tells us that God would deliver from two things. The first was the snare of the trapper. I believe that David knew he had been trapped. He was in this predicament because he had sinned. David declares God’s ability to release the trap and set him free. Sometimes, things happen to us because of things we have done. We must be like David and realize that God is the one to release us from the trap. He is there and He can release us! He desires our release! The second thing that David mentions is pestilence. The result of this sin that David committed was God sent pestilence on Israel and 70,000 Israelites died. Yet, David looks to God for deliverance from the result of his sin.
Ultimately, sin is the reason for all the world’s pestilence, either Adam’s, ours, or someone else’s sin. Let’s stop laying the blame and start receiving the deliverance of sin. That is the Good News. Many Christians are talking about the sins of America and that God’s wrath is being poured out. We need to be talking about the Deliverer from the results of sin. That is the Good News!
In verse four, David talks about our relationship with God. David says, “He will cover you with His pinions.” The picture we see here is a hen covering her chicks during the night or in a time of danger. As a farm boy, I saw this happen so many times. We must recognize that during a storm God responds by lifting His feathers and allowing us to draw near.
Today, you may be going through a storm. Draw near to God. He is lifting His wings so that you can find peace and safety. He is your shield and bulwark.