Dwelling In the Shadow of the Most High
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!” (Psalm 91:1-2)
Psalm 91
We overcome fear by exercising faith in the Word of God. I have struggled with fear throughout my life, and I still do. But the struggles are very different than they used to be, and I’m operating on a different level of victory. Many of the fears that I used to have—the fear of death, for example—are gone. But Satan will continually project others scenarios onto the screen of my mind seeking to ensnare me. Yet God is continually showing me how to overcome and conquer fear.
Psalm 91 is a passage that I’ve committed to memory that has strengthened me in my ability to keep the door of my heart closed to fear. In Psalm 91 we read of God’s protection from everything that could harm us.
Some time ago I was sitting in my study getting ready for a prayer meeting, I prayed, “Lord, if I can really believe Psalm 91 is actually for me and that I can trust You to do for me what Psalm 91 says, I’m going to go to my chair inside the sanctuary, open my Bible which was under my chair. And if when I open it, it opens to Psalm 91, then that means You’re telling me that Psalm 91 is for me, and I can believe You will do for me what Psalm 91 says You do.”
Well, beloved, do you know what happened? I randomly opened my Bible up, and there was Psalm 91. I want to encourage you to believe God for what He says He does for His children in this psalm.
A Verse-by-Verse Look
When fighting fear, this Psalm can be a real source of victory as we believe in God’s protection over us. So let’s take a closer look at it, verse by verse.
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
If we dwell in the shelter of the Most High, clinging to the Lord, and totally depending on Him, and if we are walking humbly, we will be able to abide in the shelter of the Almighty. His shelter is our safe place and our place of refuge in an unsafe world. If we fail to do this on a daily basis, we will be vulnerable to all the enemy’s devices and attacks.
To walk in protection, then, we must dwell in the shelter of the Most High and abide in the shadow of the Almighty. We do this through prayer, reading His Word, and learning to meditate upon Him throughout our day. If we do otherwise, we will become a bull’s-eye for the enemy’s fiery darts. We must be a people who set our mind and spirit to dwell in God continually, for this is our protection and our covering.
I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
We will not have fear in our lives if we truly trust the Lord in everything (Prov. 3:5-6). God has placed a hedge of protection around us. He has erected a fortress to keep us safe from all attacks as long as our heart is focused upon Him. I’m not saying that we don’t get attacked, but that we are secure as we abide in Him. When we are within that fortress, we are safe in God’s presence.
Notice that this is not a passive faith; it is active, aggressive, and proactive belief in our God. Our response to His command to be “strong and courageous” cannot be passive. We must make a declaration right now to be strong and courageous, saying, “I will trust in the Lord. I will not fear. He is my fortress and my refuge.” We can pray to Him, “I’m going to trust You, Lord. I make up my mind, Father, to stop betraying You through a lack of trust. I take my stand upon Your Word, and I choose to stand with You. Father, I believe, help me in my unbelief. And strengthen my faith in You and in Your Word. In the name of Yeshua, amen.”
For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper and from the deadly pestilence.
Satan is a trapper, seeking to catch us in his devices, but Father is watching over us, protecting us, and delivering us. This is absolute. There is no weapon that Satan forms against us that Father is not aware of and not able to handle. He is actively involved in delivering and protecting us every day. We are His little children, and He is constantly watching over us. Jesus prayed, “Keep [My disciples] from the evil one” (John 17:15). And He taught us to pray, “And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil” (Matt. 6:13).
He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.
Our faithful Father will cover us with His wings like a mother hen covers her chicks. When Jesus was on a boat with His disciples, a fierce storm blew up, and the men were fearful. Jesus was not worried, however, and He calmed the winds and waves with His words.
Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Hush, be still.” And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. And He said to them, “Why are you afraid? How is it that you have no faith?” They became very much afraid and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?” (Mark 4:38-41)
Jesus is with us in everything that we go through. And His faithfulness to us is what gives us security and ensures our safety. At times, like the disciples on the boat, we experience the wind and the waves, but Yeshua is always with us, and will see us safely through every storm that life throws at us. We must come to the place that we are not afraid of facing difficulty because we know that Yeshua will bring us safely through it.
One of the keys to overcoming fear is knowing that Yeshua is faithful in the midst of the winds and the waves. He will never let us down, so we don’t have to be afraid of trouble. Great victories and peace come to us when we come to a place that we no longer panic when something goes wrong. Jesus will always bring us victoriously through, even as He did the disciples on the boat. His faithfulness is a shield and a bulwark that nothing from the enemy can ever penetrate. When fear tries to attack us, we are safe under His wings.
You will not be afraid of the terror by night, or of the arrow that flies by day. Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, or of the destruction that lays waste at noon.
Here the Lord is speaking directly to our fears. He is saying that He is with us both night and day. He never slumbers nor sleeps, beloved. He is always with us, constantly aware of everything that we are going through. He knows when we’re fearful or when we’re anxious. And He is the One who delivers us from all of that. We don’t need to keep our nightlight on, or the television on in our room at night. During the daytime we do not need to worry about anything at all. Why? Because God is with us, beloved, and He will never let us down. We don’t have to fear.
Not too long ago I was outside and something smelled good, so I took in the pleasant smell, breathing deeply, inhaling the fragrance. I later realized the farmer across the street was spraying his fields with something. I wondered what he was doing. A few days later I drove by his field and saw that everything in it was completely dead. The pleasant smell I was enjoying turned out to be weed killer. I became fearful knowing that I had breathed that poison in.
It was faith in the Word of God that got me over that fear. We don’t have be afraid of any deadly pestilence, for Jesus said, “These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover” (Mark 16:17-18). And a firm trust in the Word of God is what will get us through all our fears.
A thousand may fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not approach you.
One of the greatest obstacles that I’ve had on my faith journey is perceiving God based on my perception of other people’s lives and situations as opposed to simply taking a hold of His Word. In other words, as I’ve said before, I would see many around me experiencing destruction and as a result I would feel vulnerable, assuming that if it happened to them, it could happen to me. But when I went to my Bible under my chair in the sanctuary, I knew that Father was telling me I could trust Him regardless of the fact that others were falling. This is a very personal promise, and trusting in the truth of it is absolutely necessary to find freedom and victory over fear.
You will look on with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked. For you have made the Lord, my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place.
A recompense is a payment or a compensation that is given to someone for what they have done. We will see the wicked receive what they deserve. We do not have to fear that evil people will win; God will vindicate us, for He always does.
Here we see God reinforcing these important truths through repetition. We are to abide in the dwelling place of God. Jesus echoed this part of the psalm when He said,
Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing…. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will done for you (John 15:4-5,7).
There is a place where we can abide so deeply in God that no harm can come near us.
No evil will befall you, nor will any plague come near your tent.
I want you to get this, beloved, and to remember it forever—no evil will befall you. Are you afraid for your family (those who dwell within your tent)? Then you must believe that no evil and no plague will come near you or your tent. This is God’s promise to us, so let’s believe God for our families. He wants to bless us and those we love, and He will do so according to the promise of His Word. We can count on Him to always be faithful to everything He has ever said to us.
For He will give His angels charge concerning you, to guard you in all your ways. They will bear you up in their hands, that you do not strike your foot against a stone.
Angelic protection is a wonderful thing that is part of our inheritance in Christ. Angels are ministering spirits that come to us when we are in need. We have no idea how many times they have helped us, but we can be assured that they have. The writer of Hebrews said that we should continue to show hospitality to strangers, “for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it” (Heb. 13:2).
Angels are warriors and they are helping us in every spiritual battle we face, whether we see them or not. They are guarding us even when we don’t know they are there. Angels are there to help us and to keep us from falling. They are with us as we are driving down the road, and unbeknownst to us they may have protected us many times from accidents and other calamities. I praise God for His angels, who are assigned to protect us and guard us.
Years ago at college, I met a couple whose mission was to disciple new believers. I was a new believer, and this couple sought to bring me into their home, employ me in their carpet-cleaning business, and disciple me. They asked to meet my parents. So we drove from Columbus, Ohio, where I was attending college at the time, to Cleveland, Ohio, where my parents lived.
Keep in mind that I’m a Jewish boy who grew up in an affluent area. We drove up in a dilapidated vehicle they owned. Upon entering my house, we sat down at the kitchen table with my parents, who are already extremely upset with my decision for Jesus. And now this couple told them that they wanted to bring me into their home, disciple me, and bring me into their carpet-cleaning business. It was at this point I heard an angels speak. I don’t know what the angels said, but I just heard beautiful singing from heaven. They were emotionally protecting me from the oppressive environment I found myself in.
You will tread upon the lion and cobra, the young lion and the serpent you will trample down.
Take a moment to ponder the truth of this mighty verse. God will give us the power to tread upon evil and even Satan himself. We will be able to trample him under our feet. Paul encouraged the Romans and said, “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet” (Rom. 16:20). We are mighty in God and are not to fear evil.
Before knowing Jesus, I was terrified of the devil (after seeing The Exorcist), afraid to be in the home alone, afraid at night, but now I’m free through Messiah Jesus! It is important to remember, “You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).
Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him securely on high because he has known My name. He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him.
God will deliver us from all fear because we love Him, and He will set us on high because we know the power of His name. Paul said that we were set in heavenly places when we were born again (Eph. 2:4-6); therefore, we can view the world from His perspective.
The first part of this verse is a prayer promise. God hears us when we pray and, more importantly, He answers our prayers. He is with us even when we are in trouble, and He promises to rescue us and even to honor us.
Many of you have gone through or may be going through situations in your job where you feel you have been treated unfairly. I want to encourage you to trust God in the midst of your situation. He will rescue you and honor you as you cling to Him.
With long life I will satisfy him and let him see My salvation.
This psalm concludes with the promise that we will see God’s glory and victory manifest in our life. Satan’s fears are a lie, but Jesus came to give life and to give it more abundantly.
Can Bad Things Still Happen?
Do you ever find yourself wondering why terrible things still happen to some believers in spite of what Psalm 91 says? What do we do when bad things happen to God’s people? Are we tempted to doubt and not believe His Word? To discount His promises?
I know some believers, for example, who seem to be constantly living in failure. Everything in their lives seems broken; nothing seems to work out for them. The promises of God are seemingly not being fulfilled in their lives; everything seems to be in a shambles. How do we deal with a situation like this?
For a long time I did not know how to face this type of scenario. I tried to ignore it, but I came to the point where I had to get answers to this perplexing question. I had an experience one cold and icy night when I was ministering with a team in a church. The service went well, but after it was over, a member of the team came running up to me and said, “My wife fell in the parking lot. Please come and pray for her. She’s in the car, groaning.”
I said, “Lord, what is going on here? This lady just finished ministering for You. I know You cause all things to work together for good, but couldn’t You have kept her from falling? Where were the angels that You promised would bear her up? Please give me an answer. Why does it seem like Your people are not experiencing Your protection and Your blessing? Lord, I can’t go on until I have an answer from You.” I felt like if God wasn’t protecting others, then how could I trust Him to protect me?
I had an internal confidence that He would answer me. For two or three days I waited on God. As I was driving in my SUV soon thereafter, the Holy Spirit spoke to me deep within my heart: “The reason you are seeing My people failing and falling is because they are not trusting Me.” This was spoken to me with such clarity and depth of revelation that I knew it was a rhema word (a personal word from God) to me.
I knew that He was talking about more than just trust, as I previously understood it. He showed me that He wanted His people to cling to Him. At that moment I learned that trusting actually is clinging. “They’re not clinging to Me,” He said. “They’re not holding on to Me.”
I immediately thought about the words of Jesus, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:3). To me, being poor in spirit speaks of dependency on the Lord. When we’re not walking in dependency upon the Lord, but are living according to our own ways, we are going to fail and fall. We will also be putting ourselves in a position where we are vulnerable to the enemy’s attack.
Please understand that God is often protecting His people even when they are not clinging to Him. However, in order to see His manifest blessing as recorded in Psalm 91, we must draw near to Him. As we learn to cling to the Lord, we will experience His favor, victory, and blessing more fully.
Sometimes God lets us fall on our faces in order to break us to bring us into a fuller experience in Him. For example, I’ve talked to many people who have had health challenges and have testified that going through their physical challenge made them more dependent on God. As a result of this, their relationship with Him is much closer now.
Trusting God for Ourselves
The devil will sometimes distract God’s people from a general truth with what appears to be an exception. He does this to keep us from receiving the revelation of God’s love. Satan does not want us to receive and believe the simple truth of God’s Word. He loves to sidetrack us with examples that seem to contradict the Word of God. In other words, we can see a person who names the name of Jesus fall into tremendous hardships and we’re tempted to wonder whether we can trust God. We think to ourselves, “Well, God didn’t seem to bless and protect them, so I wonder if I can trust Him.”
When a believer is tragically killed or dies suddenly, Satan will often try to arouse doubt in believers’ minds: “Can God really be trusted? Why did that individual die?” I’ve found a wonderful verse that addresses this situation: Isaiah 57:1-2. Isaiah says, “The righteous man perishes, and no man takes it to heart; and devout men are taken away, while no one understands. For the righteous man is taken away from evil, he enters into peace.” God takes righteous people from the earth in order to keep them from evil, to bless them, and to bring them into rest.
Some things fall into the realm of mystery, and I certainly don’t have answers to everything. When we’re confronted with troubling scenarios that we don’t understand, we need to declare with the psalmist: “O Lord, my heart is not proud, nor my eyes haughty; nor do I involve myself in great matters, or things too difficult for me” (Ps. 131:1). What the psalmist was saying here was that he wasn’t going to concern himself with trying to figure everything out. Instead, he humbly trusted God and His goodness.
Satan tries to keep us trapped by attempting to have us measure God’s faithfulness by looking at other people and their situations. But we have to trust God and cling to Him for ourselves instead of trying to trust Him based on the experiences of others. I should not determine if I can trust God based on whether I think He was faithful to somebody else. I need to trust Him for myself. My confidence in God must be based upon His Word alone.
Let’s Believe
Let’s believe, beloved, that God is always with us. He will never leave us nor forsake us. He is with us every moment of every day, even until the end of the world.
Let’s believe, beloved, that God is our shield and He is protecting us.
Let’s believe, beloved, that no evil will befall us or our children.
Let’s believe, beloved, that God will lead our children to marry the right mates.
Let’s believe, beloved, that God will watch over our finances and give us good health.
Let’s believe, beloved, that God will protect us on the road.
Let’s believe, beloved, that God will be with us in our old age.
Let’s believe, beloved, that the Lord will sustain us in every area and at every time of life.
Let’s believe, beloved, that God’s loving-kindness will be with us always.
Let’s believe, beloved, with the apostle Paul: “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:38-39).
Prayer: Father, I choose to believe Your Word, which is truth. I thank You that Your truth is setting me free. I cling to You now in total faith that You do all things well, and I believe that all things work together for good in my life. Instead of worrying, I will trust You. Instead of fretting, I will abide in You. Instead of fearing, I will walk in Your love. Instead of being anxious, I will pray and cast all my cares upon You. I love You, Father God, and I know that You are with me always. I will not fear any longer. Thank You for all the promises of Your Word. In Jesus’s name.
Rabbi K. A. Schneider