Psalm 91:9a

(For You, O YHWH, are my refuge.) LSV

This seeming side-note is easy to gloss over. It seems to just repeat what’s already been said in the first part of the chapter. But the Literal word-for-word shows that this little section changes from regular narrating (as it was the first time the word refuge was used) to first-person talking straight to God Himself, and such a change in pace is not something to read over lightly. The author paused in his writing and spoke directly to God Himself!

So, what does that mean?

Reminding God of His Word

No, that doesn’t mean He forgot. When we remind God of something, often in prayer, it’s actually a form of showing love to Him. When I have a good friend, and they tell me something, I should hope to remember at least some of what they said. If I bring it up later, it shows them that I cared at the time to listen to what they had to say. The same goes with God. We show that we love Him by restating to Him what He has told us. God has told us that He is our refuge and strength, our very present help in time of trouble. When we tell Him the same words back, it’s not a redundancy, it’s a show of faith and love.

Showing Faith in His Word

Have you heard the song from the old movie, The King and I, called I Whistle a Happy Tune? It’s too long to write out all the lyrics here, but the idea of the song is that if you act confident when you’re in a tough spot, you’ll end up fooling everyone around you, and even yourself, into thinking you actually are confident. It’s essentially the musical version of the adage “Fake it till you make it.” 

Now, sometimes, we come upon a difficult decision, and we know what God wants us to do, but it’s incredibly hard to understand how He’s going to make things work together for our good. Whenever that happens to me, I come to God, and I tell Him, “Lord, I believe: I really do… But help me to believe more fully.” I think the psalmist here was stopping his regular writing and taking a moment to step back to see God more fully and ask Him to grow his faith in God’s actually being his refuge. It’s easy to say God’s your refuge when there’s nothing going wrong. But when you have to test that promise, it’s quite easy to not feel God as your refuge, and the only thing you can say is, Lord, I believe: help Thou mine unbelief. Anything else seems almost a lie. But we know that when someone has “little faith” they do indeed have “a little faith” which, in God’s eyes, is perfect. His strength is made perfect in our weakness, so our little faith is the perfect amount for Him to use in those trying times to move mountains. A molecule of faith in the hands of the Creator is nothing to be trifled with, and He will grow your faith as He uses it to do the seeming impossible.  

Confessing His Word

The King James translates the word confess as “to agree with truth verbally.” Something I was taught recently was to write out a list of declarations of truths and promises set in the Bible for me, about God and His character to read daily and remind myself of. This helps me to take what I know and believe to be true more personally as I go. 

All throughout the Bible we are taught that there is power in the spoken word. 

(Some of the references to find this are as follows: Proverbs 15:1; Proverbs 18:21; Matthew 12:36-37; Ephesians 4:29; James 3… Even the Creation account shows this. As God spoke everything good into existence, we know that speech is powerful for great good when God is in it. When we are repeating His truth, who knows what battles are being won thereby in the unseen realms?)

I want you to pause, right now, and speak out loud: “Yes, Lord, You are my refuge.”

Tonight, when you go to bed, do the same. 

Tomorrow, when you get up, say it again.

This is how habits are made, yes? And it is surely a good habit to intentionally run to God when it’s easy. It’ll be ten times easier to do it when things get tough.

Acknowledging God

The last thing I want to note about this small section of Psalm 91:9 is the way that, even while talking about God and His goodness, the writer stops to specifically acknowledge God. Have you ever gotten burnt out in the middle of doing the Lord’s work and then wondered what was wrong with you? I have. It’s easy to get so caught up in the work that I forget why I’m working and for Whom I serve. What I’m learning to do in those times is to stop talking about God and take some time to talk straight to God. Proverbs 3:6 says to acknowledge God in all our ways. It’s not so much where you are and what you’re doing that counts as being in God’s will (although that matters a lot!) as that you are seeking His face early. 

Dwell on God, on His goodness, on His truth, and thank Him for His mercies. Take time to acknowledge Him intentionally. Come to Him and believe that He Is and that He rewards you for seeking Him diligently. Be still and know that He Is God. Remember the name of the Lord our God, and trust in Him.