God's Protection for Us

“You shall not fear the terror by night; nor because of the arrow that flies by day;” (Psalms 91:5)

The whole psalm is a declaration of God’s protection during any kind of disaster. Jewish tradition holds that Moses wrote the psalm sometime during the forty-year wandering through the wilderness.  But Christian tradition and some scholars believe that David wrote the psalm. The Septuagint which is the oldest Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament written in the third century by seventy-two Jewish scholars attribute the psalm to David.

The terror by night can refer to the actual dark works that occur in the concealment of darkness. This is the time that men possessed by evil do their wicked works, under cover of darkness when no one can see them. People are more vulnerable, unprotected and least able or prepared to defend themselves or their homes at night when they are sleeping. Terror is defined as a sudden alarm, dread or great fear by Strong’s Hebrew and Greek dictionary. Merriam-Webster dictionaries define terror as intense, frightening, terrifying, tormenting and overwhelming fear of violence, threat of violence, or destruction.

As Christians we can claim the protections declared in this psalm. Right off the first verse it clarifies who this psalm is for. “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall rest under the shadow of the Almighty.” (Psalms 91:1) It speaks of a person who dwells in the secret place of the Most High. Those who believe in Jesus, who have repented of their sinful lives and have surrendered their lives to Jesus have become children of God. “But as many as received Him, He gave to them authority to become the children of God, to those who believe on His name,” (John 1:12). As children of God, we are privileged access to the throne of God. “Therefore, let us come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16) There is no more a secret place than the Throne room of our Heavenly Father. Not just anyone can enter. But we are welcomed there to abide and stay safe and be at peace, away from the world and its cruel offerings of tribulation, fear and distress. There with our Father, we find peace, solace and help. There is where He covers us with His grace and love and overshadows us with a rest only known in the heavenly realm.

There is no fear in the Lord’s Throne room of any terror that comes against us by night, nor of “the arrow that flies by day.” These arrows that fly by day are the constant challenges, dangers and attacks of daily life. They speak of actual dangers, challenges and attacks or spiritual dangers, challenges and attacks. We walk through our day without awareness of dangers from which the Lord foresees and protects us. He sends His holy angels to delay us on our way to work. And what we see as a great inconvenience, we learn that if we had left at our desired time, we would have been in a terrible accident that happened on our route to work. Or maybe we missed our plane departure and bemoan what we will have to go through to get to our destiny. But we learn that the plane we missed had an accident. There are hundreds of similar stories. Now, when some inconvenience happens, I thank the Lord because I don’t know what tragedy the Lord is protecting me from or what opportunity He is setting me up for. Since I am His child, I don’t stress about these inconveniences because my life is in His hands and He has great plans for me. When my plans get disrupted, I know His plans are better. I dwell “in the secret place of the Most High” and “rest under the shadow of the Almighty.”

Sometimes, those daily challenges, dangers and attacks are not physical dangers but spiritual ones. They are evil opportunities to lead us astray or to cause us to doubt God’s sovereignty and faithfulness. The Lord may thwart incidents that bring up thoughts, words or actions that cause us spiritual danger. Or He may allow us to suffer some challenges, dangers and attacks to bring us to our senses and back to Him.

In short, we who dwell in the secret place of the Almighty are shadowed by the Lord’s faithfulness and protection. There should be no fear of any challenge, danger or attack in the night or the day. We can rest fully knowing we are safe and the best outcome is ours because our Heavenly Father has the best for us. (Jeremiah 29:11)

Let us pray:

Holy Father, You are so good to me. I am overwhelmed, full of joy and content in Your love and protection. I thank You for Your protection from things I am not even aware of. I thank You that You don’t grant me every secret desire for my own good and protection because You see the end and the destruction that it would cause me. I trust You Lord because Your plans for me are good. They are to prosper me and for a future that You have designed for me. It’s a future full of hope. It’s a future that is beyond my imagination or dreams. Thank You Lord for this peace and the rest that You accord to me. I thank You that I can abide in Your shadow and know I am safe from harm, from danger, from sin and from evil. I love You Lord. In the Name of Jesus I pray, amen.