Let’s read a few verses, shall we?

Because thou hast made the most High thy habitation,
There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
For He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.
Psalm 91: 9b-13

I’ve lived through a lot of days where that didn’t seem true. Perhaps you have, too.

No evil? Tell that to one of my best friends who lost her child due to a miscarriage.
No plague? My own mother was bedridden from unexplainable sickness for nigh upon ten years.
Keep me in all my ways? I myself have strayed so far while yet speaking the name of Jesus.
Not stumble, no matter the treacherous terrain? I’m sure you can fill in this blank for yourself.

When bad things happen, what do we do with them and this promise?

So far, the Psalm 91 series has talked very confidently concerning us and our state in Christ in this life. We learned that God is our safe haven, that He will always deliver us, that we can live in victory no matter if we can see it, and that God blesses those who are full of faith in His faithfulness.

But what about the weary Christian? What about the one who’s seen the storms in first-person? Whose heart has been torn, battered, and scarred over from the evils, plagues, waywardnesses, and unsteady paths?

What about you, friend? Is there nothing left for you, who has seen what can only seem to be understood as the failings of God’s promises? Is there no balm that can soothe such hurts?

I have been here more times than I care to admit. Many are the lamentations that I have said to myself more than to God because my circumstances point to Him being untrustworthy. 

People seeing me in such a state often told me the same regurgitated words:
“Circumstances aren’t everything.”
“Pain shouldn’t matter to the Christian.”
“You need to trust God more.”
“Just keep saying God is in control until you actually believe it.”
“God is good, all the time. All the time…”

While all these are true to some extent, the manner in which they are said only cements the idea that they don’t know how to help, and neither does the God they talk so highly of. Maybe there’s warrant for an article specifically concerning the Christian’s tone of voice, but today let’s dive into the meat of today’s article.

Is God Reliable?

Recently a few friends came to my fiancé and me and asked us if we were really so ready for marriage that we’d be able to sustain ourselves by the date we’d picked for the wedding. They brought up some real worries, including that we had no place as yet to live. We told them we’d start praying about it and would consider changing the date back if we didn’t have a home lined up by January 5th. We had about three weeks for God to come through with the answer to this prayer. We asked around and did what work we could over Christmas break to pay for whatever God brought. 

But lead after lead turned cold. Our best leads turned colder than we ever could have imagined. Even as we were led by others’ council and personal seeking of God that we were meant to marry at the original date, the options seemed to thin as fast as our breath in the Indiana winter. We were making God our habitation. We were continually dwelling upon Him and seeking His will. And there was only a week left of the three we’d started out with, and no leads for housing. We were at the end of our rope, hanging on by a thread. 

We went to my fiancé’s church and there were encouraged that God does not forget to answer prayer and always keeps his promises. My mother texted us after church, saying she had news for us. A lady from my church was offering a place for us to live. We checked the lead, almost expecting an instant problem to turn us away, but… 

It was exactly what we’d been searching for. It was well within our price range and had everything we’d need for the first few months after we got married. It wasn’t too far away or too near everywhere we’d need to go. And within a few days, it’s been settled. We will have our wedding on the original date, and God has proved Himself faithful once again.

Reading my experience does not mean your problems are solved. After all, I’m a blog writer, and you’re just… you. Right? Well, I’m no special person just because I write here. God is good at taking chaos and making order, and that’s what He does with me, and what He is working on doing with you. You are made in His image, and He does  not take that lightly. 

When the physical, mental, and emotional worlds collide and your circumstances tell you there’s nothing left, remember Whose image you bear, and rest, knowing that nothing can harm him who bears Heaven’s name. The Lord is faithful to establish us and keep us from evil. He rewards those who believe in Him and seek Him diligently. The Devil wants to get our minds away from believing this, because despair and despond pull us away from faith. 

Here’s an equation.

Your Past Experience + Your Present Circumstance ≠ Truth

We can only see our side of the picture, but God sees all, in the past, the present, and the future. He knows not only your story in detail, but everyone else’s and His purposes and design as well. He is our strength and joy in tribulation, and we can live in victory over the trials that come. 

But What About That Promise?

The verse says that for those who have made God their habitation, He will keep evil from them. But bad things happen to us all the time. How do we reconcile that?
When we are living in Christ, walking in the Spirit, and resting in the Father, there really is nothing that can faze us. Remember, when we dwell in the Secret Place of the Most High, we are under His Shadow and in His keeping. We will not be tempted above that we are able to bear, and there will always be a way to escape and hide in Him.

The verse says that for those who dwell in God’s secret place, He will not allow plagues or physical hurt to come to us.
It is interesting to me that the word used there for “plague” is the same word used for “stricken” in Isaiah 53:8. That chapter is a prophecy about Jesus taking on the payment of sin for all mankind.
If we habitually dwell in the One Who took on the pain and suffering we deserved, surely He has borne our sorrows and will yet bear the pain for the circumstantial plagues that try to enter with us into our Dwelling. For He is our dwelling place.  

It is not that the trials will not come, but that He will take our pains on Himself as though they were His own, for we are His own, and He will vanquish pain and death. 

He that would come to God must believe that He Is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. Do you believe Him? 

God’s Promise + Your Faith = Safety

I’ll see you along the Way!