“Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.’ Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked. If you say, ‘The Lord is my refuge,’ and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent. ‘Because he loves me,’ says the Lord, ‘I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.'” Psalm 91:1-16 NIV
What does it mean to make the Lord your refuge?
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines “refuge” as a “shelter or protection from danger or distress.” Psalm 91 repeatedly tells believers to make God their refuge–their protection from distress. All throughout the Bible, you hear stories of Jesus healing, saving, and protecting His followers. He even calmed a storm and saved His disciples from dying in a boat wreck! If you believe in Jesus, you should trust Him to save you just like He did in the stories we read in the Bible.
How do you make God your refuge?
It’s human instinct to yell for help when we’re in distress. Remember when you were a kid on the playground and a huge bee flew near you? You would let out that horrifying scream that surprised every adult that such a small person could make such a horrible noise. Now that we’re older, we still find ourselves in distress. Stress from our job, anger at one of our family members, (and maybe a little bit of road rage) are some common causes of distress. When we feel that stirring in our mind that makes our hearts pound, we must take refuge in the Lord. Call on His name as soon as possible. Say, “Lord, be my refuge and protect me. Shelter me. Save me.”
When do I call on Him?
You should call on Him any time the idea pops into your head. God does not get annoyed with His followers. He wants us to call on Him and he does not get angry with us when we trust in Him. The Lord is faithful and will not abandon us because we call on Him “too much”. If you’re anything like me, you may get a little bit insecure and feel too needy when you call on God for reasons that are less than distressing or dangerous. The Truth is, the Bible calls on believers to do this in so many verses (Psalm 91 for example).
Call on God whenever you’re scared, stressed out, anxious, sad, and even when you’re happy. He cares for you greatly and will draw near to you when you call on Him.
What will happen?
Psalm 91 says, “[God] will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.” These are some big promises made by the Bible. It continues to say, “no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent.” I don’t know about you, but the words that I bolded are words that I find comfort in. Reading these promises make me emotional because I can feel God’s love for me.
When you call on the Lord to rescue you from whatever is causing you discomfort or distress, he promises that he will protect you. He may not deliver these promises in the way you expected. The Lord works in mysterious ways and He does have a plan for you. It may be difficult, but do not get angry with God when He does not save you “the right way”. His way is the right way.
Prayer: God, You are so good. Thank you for promising me that You will be my refuge whenever I call on You. Please help me and guide me to call on You the next time I am in a bad situation. I trust You and I want to put my comfort in You and not worldly things. Thank you, Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Did you like this devotional? Let me know what you took away from it and give me feedback in a reply below! If you’re looking to read more, try reading my blog post, “Dive Into Your Relationship with God: A Guide for Development“.
