Under the Shadow...

"of the Almighty..."
Psalm 91:1
NKJV

I so love the breathtaking imagery of the Word of God.  To a poetry lover, even Shakespeare falls short of the majestic poetry dripping from the Scriptures.  For someone like me, who often needs God to draw me a picture of what He is trying to tell me, He fills up my senses with the overwhelming beauty and power of the pictures He has painted of His love for us.   How can we read His word and not see His heart?  

So often, I have been brought to tears and moved to worship by the God who can touch my heart like no one else can.  I am a lover of words, but, many, many times, I have found myself speechless in the Presence of the God who embodies the breathtaking beauty of every word that has ever been spoken to describe Him and His tender, loving kindness for us.  Nothing brings me into His presence more surely than reading His love letter to us in the beautiful Word of God.

The Psalms contain some of the most beautiful imagery of God's love for us and His constant plea to "Come to the Waters" a heart cry from a Daddy who is begging His children to come to Him - love Him - be satisfied with nothing less.  As a parent myself, I can relate - how about you?

Psalm 91, given to me by a loving, compassionate God on 911 when the twin towers burned and people fled the city of New York by the thousands, came alive for me in a way I will never, ever forget. 

My daughter was working 2 blocks away and was caught up in the nightmare of that day.  I could not contact her until much later that day and felt, first hand, "the arrow that flies by day..." I have no doubt that He "covered her with His feathers and gave her a sure refuge under His wings." 

How can I ever forget that day or what the Lord, the Almighty God, did for me and for my child on one of the most terrifying days we have ever lived through?  I do not have sufficient words to convey the depth of my love or my thanks to the God who rescued us both that day. 

Here is the Psalm that God cemented in my heart that day.  Recently, He brought it back to me to remind me He is still in the business of loving us and begs for us to love Him back.  Like a child who forgot who my Daddy is, I find myself running down the road to get to Him...  Amazingly, I meet Him on the road.  He is running back to me...

Psalm 91

 

 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
² I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust.”

³ Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler
And from the perilous pestilence.
4He shall cover you with His feathers
And under His wings, you shall take refuge.

His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
⁵ You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,
Nor of the arrow that flies by day,
⁶ Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,
Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.

⁷ A thousand may fall at your side,
And ten thousand at your right hand;
But it shall not come near you.
⁸ Only with your eyes shall you look,
And see the reward of the wicked.

⁹ Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge,
Even the Most High, your dwelling place,
¹⁰ No evil shall befall you,
Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;
¹¹ For He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you in all your ways.
¹² In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.
¹³ You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra,
The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.

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.”