Recently I have been battling with trusting that God is for me. I understand him to be my advocate in a collective sense (advocating for his children and assuring their best), but I have temporarily lost my possession of knowing that he knows me uniquely as a well love child is known by her mother. No doubt, I have seen God’s beneficence in how he has preserved me through various social and personal challenges, but I have attributed his actions to those of one who prosecutes his responsibility for the body, i.e., I see him doing good within the context of doing it for all who love him and are walking in his purpose. The tides of life have eroded my sensing of the customization of his grace. If you are in the same place as I am, I invite you to walk the Psalm 91 journey with me. Over the next 91 days (13 weeks), we will memorize this personalized version of Psalm 91 from the NIV. My prayer is that God’s word will re-ignite that belief in the individual focus that he has on your welfare and thriving.
For the first nine weeks, I will share a personal reflection around portions of the psalm as shown below. Use my reflection to prompt your own thoughts and then work to commit that portion of the scripture to memory for that week.
Week 1 – Memorize This
1Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
Many of us know that trust is hard to come by. Our lives may be littered with incidents where trust was broken. Broken trust results in feelings of betrayal and disappointment, which can extend themselves to God, to whom some attribute a burden of responsibility for their pain. This psalm rests on this foundational pronouncement of God as our ultimate source of trust. We are invited into the proclamation (“I will say”), even though we may not be fully convinced. If you haven’t already done so, give yourself permission to NOT be fully convinced (if your ability to extend trust to anyone has been altered negatively). We are not called to “believe” in God’s trustworthiness as much as we are encouraged to speak it matter-of-factly. If that is all that you can do, then that is where you are.
Week 2
3 Surely he will save me
from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover me with his feathers,
and under his wings I will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be my shield and rampart.
Week 3
5 I will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
Week 4
7 A thousand may fall at my side,
ten thousand at my right hand,
but it will not come near me.
8 I will only observe with my eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.
Week 5
9 If I say, “The Lord is my refuge,”
and I make the Most High my dwelling,
10 no harm will overtake me,
no disaster will come near my tent.
Week 6
11 For he will command his angels concerning me
to guard me in all my ways;
12 they will lift me up in their hands,
so that I will not strike my foot against a stone.
13 I will tread on the lion and the cobra;
I will trample the great lion and the serpent.
Week 7
14 “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.”
Week 8
15 I will call on you, and You will answer me;
You will be with me in trouble,
You will deliver me and honor me.
Week 9
16 With long life You will satisfy me
and show me your salvation.”
