Psalm 91 -- 31 Devotions -- Day 6

~Day Six~
Psalm 91:3
Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler And from the perilous pestilence.
NKJV

Have you ever left your freezer or refrigerator unattended and come home to find that the power had been off for some time and all the contents had gone bad and started to smell of rotting meat? An incident like this one happened to us. Actually it happened to my wife Debbie. I was not with her when she discovered the “perilous pestilence” inside our refrigerator and freezer. She called me and gave me “color commentary” as she cleaned the rotting meat from the fridge. I will spare you the details, but she has never forgotten the smell or the clean up!

Yesterday we claimed the promise of deliverance by God from the snare of the fowler. Let’s continue with the theme of deliverance today as we look to the second half of verse 3. There are two interesting words in today’s verse: perilous and pestilence.

Perilous – Strongs Exhaustive Concordance and Dictionary defines perilous as iniquity, perverse thing, wickedness.
Pestilence – Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance and Dictionary defines pestilence as plague and death.

Satan’s schemes always lead to “iniquity or sin, perverse things, wickedness, death and destruction.” The wages of sin (Romans 6:23) because of Adam’s curse is death and the plague of destruction. The word plague is a reminder of death and by association the stinch of rotting flesh. (Read John 10:10) HOWEVER.....Jesus always leads to life. Our deliverer came to deliver us from the destructive schemes (wiles) of Satan.

John 3:16-17 says:

16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. (NKJV)

Oh, my friend, Jesus has come into the world to be our Deliverer! He has rescued us from the curse of sin, perverse things, wickedness, death and the plague of destruction. He was charged to come to the earth and clean up the stench of rotting flesh works. Jesus has come to give us abundant, eternal life!! (John 3:15-16 and John 10:10) Will you accept that gift today? Yes, Christian, I am talking to you, too! Will you choose to walk in the rotting stench of the works of the flesh! Or, will you choose to walk in the life of Christ today? Let Jesus deliver you today!

Psalm 91 -- 31 Devotions -- Day 5

~Day Five~
Psalm 91:3
Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler And from the perilous pestilence. NKJV

I am a product of the 1950’s. Those of us who were born during this era are known as a “baby boomers.” We were raised with one thing in common; we were the first generation to watch television on a regular basis. I had my favorite shows just like everyone else. One of my favorite television shows was on Saturday mornings. It was actually the replay of the old Tarzan movies starring Johnny Weissmuller. On more than one occasion the plot of those movies would include a scene of Tarzan running through the jungle. He would swing on vines, leap over streams, wrestle alligators, fight with lions and tigers and step into snares. Yes, even Tarzan would fall prey to the “snare.” It was a clever trap hidden in the brush. The unsuspecting Tarzan would be caught up in a spring loaded net. The snare would leave him hanging high in the tree with no hopes of escape. Of course he was Tarzan...he always escaped.

One of the great promises to you from the scripture for today is “deliverance.” The word is clear. God will deliver you from the snare of the fowler. In your case the fowler is the evil one – Satan. Ephesians 6:11 makes it very clear that Satan has schemes (wiles) which are customized just for you. Just like the snare in the Tarzan movies, they are cleverly hidden. The unsuspecting Christian is caught up in the spring loaded scheme of the devil himself. The snare of Satan would seem to leave us hanging high with no hope of escape. But, praise be unto God, our Deliverer, our Fortress, our Rock. In Christ Jesus, we are more than conquerors! (Read Romans 8:37)

As you go through your day, walk with your eyes open and looking around. (Read Ephesians 5:15) If you do find yourself in a snare, call on your Deliverer. He is faithful to deliver you from the snare of the fowler.

Psalm 91 -- 31 Devotions -- Day 4

~Day Four~
Psalm 91:2
I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust."
NKJV

On October 31, 1974 I asked Debbie to take my hand in marriage. Fortunately she loved me enough to look past all of my faults and say YES. I will never forget the sight of her walking arm in arm with her father down the aisle of Valley View Baptist Church on the evening of our wedding. It was August 15, 1975 and I had never seen her look so beautiful! The thoughts of her being “my wife” were rolling around in my head. MY wife...She would be mine. She would not be anyone else’s wife she would be MY wife! WOW!

David forcefully makes the statement that the Lord would belong to him as his God. “My God,” he said. David knew the importance of identifying the Lord God as “his.” David had called on “his” God personally in times of fear when he was a shepherd. David called on “his” God when Goliath the giant Philistine was on the warpath. In each case David’s personal God had given the victoy!

God is a jealous God. He does not want us to put anything before Him. He wants and deserves our full attention, obedience and love. This was not a difficult thing for David at this point because of all the situations that David and God had been through together. He reaffirms his faith in God by saying that all of his trust is in the Lord.

Debbie has proven herself to me through the years of our marriage. We have been through some tremendous struggles and awesome happy times together. I trust her. I would trust her with my life. No second thoughts, not a single question, I trust her. Oh that you and I could get to the place in our lives where we could trust God the same way – for our lives, no second thoughts, not a single question – just trust.

Wise Solomon said:
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.
(NKJV)

Is God your one and only God? Have you placed all of your faith in Him? Do you trust Him?

Psalm 91 -- 31 Devotions -- Day 3

~Day Three~
Psalm 91:2
I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust."
NKJV


Life is full of choices!

The great American evangelist, Vance Havner once said, “Life is a series of choices between the bad and the good and the best. Everything depends on which way we choose.”

This great quote is true in the Christian’s life. The choices we make every day can determine the outcome of our lives.

David made the correct choice and he was emphatic about it. He said, “I will say....” You can hear the determination in his voice to make the right choice. David is most famous for a few of his bad choices, i.e. Bathsheba, etc. In this case he is determined to make the right choice in the Lord. The Lord is David’s refuge and fortress.

Will you make the right choice today?

The Lord as your refuge~
Where do you run when you need a safe place? Where do you go when you need answers to questions? David said that the Lord is his refuge. The Hebrew word for refuge comes from the root word chacah. It means to flee for protection. Figuratively it means “to confide in.” In whom will you confide today? Make the right choice. Make the Lord your refuge – your confidant. You can trust Him!

The Lord as your fortress~
Where do you find your security? Do you find security in family members? Possessions? Career? Church? There was only one place where David felt safe and secure. It was in the Lord as a “fortress.” A fort is a built up defense from the enemy. In David’s case he knew that his best defense was in the Lord. Do you think that David has forgotten Goliath? Of course not! It would have been impossible for David to forget the miraculous way God destroyed the giant when he fully trusted Him. (Read 1 Samuel 17:45-47) As a young man David trusted God to do big things and God did big things! God defended David against the lion, the bear and Goliath. It is no wonder that David could say with certainty, “I will say of the Lord.”

Jesus asked his disciples, “...But, who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15-NKJV) He is asking the same question of you. Who is the Lord to you, today? Make the right choice. Read Psalm 91:2 again. Make the right choice!

Psalm 91 -- 31 Devotions -- Day 2

Day Two
Psalm 91:1
He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
NKJV

I grew up in rural Alabama. My mother’s house sits far back off the main road and is surrounded by huge oak trees. As a young boy, during the long hot Alabama days I would play outside all day long. Whew! It was hot! I can remember working very hard at cutting the grass or helping my mother in the garden. I would be SO hot! The sun would beam down until the ground was parched, as was my throat. After a while I would head to the shade of those huge oak trees. I would feel the cool green grass under my feet. Usually Mother would fix us a drink of ice water! Thank God for the shade, my mother, and the ice water!

David’s words in our scripture for today remind me of those “shade trees.” (That was my mothers name for them.) His promise is for us to abide under the “shadow” of the Almighty. The oak trees offered a tremendous shadow for my rest from the hot sun. God Almighty offers much more than a temporary quiet “rest.” Let me explain.

David uses the word abide. He says that we can “continue, dwell, endure, be left, lie all night, lodge, to stay permanently” in the shadow (shade) of the Almighty God of the universe. In His presence we have His provision, His protection, and His promise that He will never leave us. (Read Hebrews 13:5) Have you ever tried to outrun your shadow – it is impossible! Your shadow goes with you everywhere you go! The shadow of the Almighty covers those who rest in His shade! He covers you everywhere you go!!

Now spend some time meditating on the blessings that flow to us as we “rest” in this truth of this scripture.