Under His Shadow, Part 3 

I’ve been examining Psalm 91 for the last two weeks. Today, I want to continue by examining specific promises in this Psalm. 

Psalm 91 describes the security that believers can find through faith in Christ. The secret place is found in the Lord. It reflects the Old Testament’s approach to teaching personal faith. But for us today, this personal faith and realization of God’s promises are found in Christ. 

The Promises of Psalm 91 

14 “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. 15 He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. 16 With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation.” Psalm 91:14-16 NKJV 

The last three verses offer beautiful promises of care and protection from God. They illustrate God’s commitment to answering, accompanying, rescuing, honoring, and blessing those who love Him with a long life.  

Let’s look at six promises: God’s presence, peace, protection, perspective, provision, and power. 

God’s Presence. His presence brings His peace, joy, and comfort. 

“I will answer your cry for help every time you pray, and you will find and feel my presence even in your time of pressure and trouble.” Psalm 91:15 TPT 

Psalm 91 is about abiding in the Lord, sheltering in Him, and being clothed in His presence. As I shared last week, the Holy Spirit indwells the believer’s life. We are in Him and share His divine nature (2 Peter 1:4 NLT).  

Consider a fish in water in an aquarium. The fish doesn’t have to “try” to be in the water; it is! We are in the Lord and the power of His might! 

Sometimes, we think, “If I can just believe hard enough!” Wrong! Protection is already there; it has been provided through Jesus! Faith is simply the choice to receive what Jesus has already done! 

Where is God’s power at work? In and through us! Paul writes: 

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.” Eph. 3:20 NIV 

Further, you and I are not alone! God promises to be with you always:  

5 Your way of life should be free from the love of money, and you should be content with what you have. After all, he has said, I will never leave you or abandon you. 6 This is why we can confidently say, The Lord is my helper, and I won’t be afraid. What can people do to me?” Heb 13:5-6 CEB 

 Proverbs tells us that “The fear of man is a snare…” We must be confident that the Lord is with us, and we can choose to refuse fear, no matter what the enemy or others try to do to us. 

Fear is False Evidence Appearing Real! The enemy intimidates and tries to convince us God is not with us or for us. This lie is often magnified through people at times. 

God’s Peace. You can feel secure always, even in unknown territory.  

He is the Prince of Peace, and his desire is to impart his peace, the establishment of His rule, and His government in our souls. His peace, ruling in our hearts, is greater than the trouble that surrounds us. His birth and subsequent death secured our peace. 

“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” John 14:27 NKJV 

When He promised peace, there was political oppression, religious oppression, disasters, and hardships. This was true then and is still true today. But the Prince of Peace promises to give us His peace as we follow Him.  

The same peace that Jesus experienced during the storms is available to you and me as we live in him. The peace in Jesus was greater than the storms.  

Further, we have peace with God because we are in right standing with Him through Jesus: 

“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Rom. 5:1 NKJV 

Through our faith in Christ, the saving power of Christ’s death and resurrection makes it possible for us to have peace with God.  

As devoted followers of Jesus, we don’t have to fear judgment because, as He is, so are we in this world (1 John 4:17). The Father completely loves and accepts Jesus, and so are you and I as his disciples. 

His indwelling life and character are now available through the Holy Spirit to help us learn to abide in the peace of God. God’s Peace, or Shalom, in your life, is evidence of the rule of Christ in your heart. 

God’s Protection. As you follow Jesus and take risks, God promises to keep you safe.   

The psalmist expresses his confidence in God’s protection, which wards off not only imminent danger, expressed in terms of battle and deadly disease, but even the fear of it. Those who take refuge in God will remain immune to evil…1  

Psalm 37:23 states:  

“The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.” Do you believe that God is guiding your path? That He delights?” NLT 

For those who follow Jesus, we can confidently expect his guidance and direction. He delights in you and your walk of faith, and He delights in every detail of your life. 

For example, in Mark 6, right after the miracle of the loaves and fishes, Jesus instructs the disciples to go to the other side of the lake. Jesus goes to the mountain to pray. But the disciples encounter a stormy sea! Jesus comes walking on water and says to them,  

“Take courage, it is I, don’t be afraid!” Mark 6:50 NIV  

As Jesus gets into the boat with them, immediately the sea calms. They get to the other side of the lake, and revival breaks out! God knew what He intended; the disciples had to trust God’s protection despite the storm that came.  

I love this quote by Oswald Chambers from his devotional “The Utmost for His Highest”: 

“Faith never knows where it is being led, but it loves and knows the One who is leading.”  

Time and again, I have found this to be true with Jesus! Keep your eyes on Him, love Him, and trust Him! 

I’ll finish this important series next week, looking at God’s Promises of His perspective, provision, and power. 

FootNote

1 Gordon D. Fee and Robert L. Hubbard Jr., eds., The Eerdmans Companion to the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2011), 342.