(This is the last of a two-part column.)
Psalm 91 begins “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust….”
We should praise and adore the Most High. The psalmist knows no one can go over God or under God or around God. God’s Spirit is everywhere. God is the Most High and Holy One. He is the “Most High,” because there is none greater than God, there is none more expansive, none deeper or wider than God, physically, spiritually, or mentally higher than God.
Psalm 91 also says we shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. My dad’s favorite song was, “Abide with Me.” Although my dad did not go to church often, he knew God and wanted God to abide with him. We want God to take residence in our bodies and stay there. We know God covers us like a mother hen. God’s shadow of protection will never leave or forsake us. God is the All Mighty God; there is none like God anywhere in heaven above or on earth beneath.
In verse 2, the psalmist says he will say of the Lord, You are my Refuge and my Fortress, my God in You will I trust. When we pray to God, we must make our prayers personal. God wants an intimate relationship with us. God wants us to enjoy God’s presence. God wants us to love being with God. God is a jealous God.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
You are my REFUGE. God, I know I can steal away with you and find strength in my time of need. God, I know I can come to you and find comfort and compassion. You, alone, are my refuge from the storms of life, from the hustle and bustle of life in the 21st Century. You, O God, are my refuge.
You are my FORTRESS. This is the time I need you to build that WALL around me, a WALL that protects me from the darts of the enemy. I’m feeling weak today, Lord, please put your strong FORTRESS, your strong WALL around me, while I rest, for I am weary of soul. Build that hedge around me today, that fortress, and strengthen me for tomorrow.
MY GOD, in YOU I TRUST: God wants to be our God. God does not want to take second place in our lives. God wants us to realize that without God, we can do nothing. We must let God know that we trust in the Lord with all our heart and lean not to our own understanding (Prov. 3:5). In all thy ways we acknowledge Him and only God can direct our paths (Prov. 3:6) when we trust God.
Surely You shall deliver me from the snare of the fowler and from the noisome pestilence.
Do you know GOD as a Deliverer? I can surely tell you He delivered me from the snare of the fowler. If God had not delivered me from what could have been the snare of congestive heart failure, I would probably not be here now. I had walked around for years with a heart murmur. None of the doctors with whom my mom had given me annual physicals as a child or the doctors who gave me physicals as a young adult heard anything wrong with my heart.
A female Food and Drug Administration doctor gave me a physical and shared with me that she heard a murmur and she gave me a referral to Bethesda Naval Hospital in Washington, D.C., where my husband worked. I had an echocardiogram that showed a small hole from the left to right atrial, upper chamber, of my heart that needed to be repaired. The cardiologist told me if the FDA doctor, had not made the referral, I would have developed congestive heart failure, which is an irreversible disease. I know God as a deliver.
What is the noisome pestilence? Sometimes the noisome pestilence is a couple of coworkers who try to make your life miserable. Sometimes the noisome pestilence is an aggravating voice that tells you that you cannot be a nurse or doctor or lawyer or preacher, although this is what you have wanted to be since you were a child. Sometimes the noisome pestilence is wayward children who are talking back to you and disobeying you. Give the noisome pestilence to God.
He shall cover you with His feathers and under His wings shall you trust: His truth shall be your shield and buckler. In the midst of the snare of the fowler or the noisome pestilence, God will cover you with His feathers, under His wings, like a mother hen. You can trust God to cover you. You can trust God to protect you in spite of all that challenges you in this life.
So, increase your prayer life. Deepen your prayer life and feel the strength and power of God in your life. Practice the presence of God through prayer. Let God know how important God is to you and return to that intimate place where you first met the Lord. Visit your secret place often, and grow more like Jesus.
Jesus prayed often, going up the mountain, every time He healed someone, in the Garden of Gethsemane, on the cross (SEVEN LAST WORDS, one being, “Father forgive them…)
If Jesus prayed often, we ought to pray often. My grandma used to sing: Have a little talk with Jesus, tell Him all about our troubles, He will hear your fainted cry and He will answer by and by. When you feel a little prayer turning, and you know a little fire is burning, you will find a little talk with Jesus makes it right.
The Rev. Edna Morgan is pastor of St. Luke United Methodist Church in Pine Bluff. Her husband, David Morgan, is a retired pastor in the Arkansas Conference, and together, they established a 501(c) (3) non-profit retreat center, Healing Place Ministries, in 2004, that serves the Pine Bluff and Jefferson County areas.
Editor’s note: Pastors, ministers or other writers interested in writing for this section may submit articles for consideration to shope@adgnewsroom.com. Writers should have connections to Southeast Arkansas. Please include your name, phone number and the name and location of your church or ministry.