From: April 23, 2024
‘I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence’ (Psalm 91:2-3 ESV).
The psalmist declared in advance his intent to call on the Lord when facing a trap or temptation of an enemy or a deadly disease. He said, “I will say.” In other words, He had predetermined how he would respond if temptation or trouble were to come his way. He said that he would declare the Lord as his “refuge,” the home were he could rest. He would call the Lord his “fortress,” his place of safety from all harm. He had already decided, come what may, that he would put his “trust” in the LORD.
What have you decided to say in a season of trouble? Because in this life, trouble always comes. Will you look to yourself, your job, or the government, or some other thing to “deliver” you, to rescue you?
Instead, let us be like the psalmist. Let us decide in advance how we will speak. May our words, both internal and external be focused on the Lord, our Refuge, our Fortress, our Deliverer, in Him alone will we put our trust!
PRAYER: Dear Father, we put our trust in You. There is always trouble in this world. But we run to You as our refuge and fortress. We put our trust in You as our Deliverer. Therefore we will not fear. For we trust in You. Strengthen us now this day. In Jesus’ name, amen.
From: April 23, 2023
“Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom” (Psalm 90:12 NLT).
Have you ever heard of the “Urgent-Important Matrix?” It is a time management system made popular by Stephen Covey’s book, “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.” The matrix teaches that every task can be placed in one of four possible quadrants: Q1) Urgent and important, Q2) Important, not urgent, Q3) Urgent, not important, and Q4) Not urgent, not important. The basic idea is that we should focus on important things, so that we don’t waste time on the unimportant, nor living in frantic urgency because of procrastination.
The Book of Proverbs taught this principle long before Covey made it popular. Understanding that our days are numbered can motivate us to live life with a sense of urgent-importance. “Urgent” because putting it off until tomorrow means eventually running out of tomorrows. And “important” because we often fill our days with unimportant things.
If the Lord has put it on your heart today, then do it now! Prayerfully consider what is most important, then focus on those things every day. This is not a morbid state of mind, being aware of your limited days. This is wisdom, not wasting the time God has given you on planet earth. Don’t waste your life!
PRAYER: Dear Father, teach us to number our days, so we have a heart of wisdom. We don’t want to waste the time You have given us. Yet, what we may judge urgent or important might not line up with Your priorities. Therefore teach us to call those things that You deem “urgent and important” as priorities for us too. Strengthen us to do them according to Your timing. In Jesus’ name, amen.
From: April 23, 2016
When Jesus told Peter and John to go and prepare the Passover, they asked, “Where?” Jesus didn’t respond with an address, but with a set of circumstances and a person. He told them that they would meet a man carrying a jar of water as they entered Jerusalem and that they should follow him to the place. He even told them what to ask when they got there.
Have you ever experienced this kind of direction and help from the Lord? Peter and John were ready to obey, but needed direction. Sometimes we are ready to obey, but we don’t pause to ask the Lord for help. We come up with our own plans, rather than asking the Lord for where He wants us to go. What joy to hear the Lord’s voice saying, “Follow the man with the water jar!”
From: April 23, 2015
Understanding that our days are numbered can motivate us to live life with a sense of urgent importance. “Urgent,” because putting off till tomorrow means eventually running out of tomorrows. If the Lord has put it on your heart, then do it now! And “important,” because we often fill our days with unimportant things. Prayerfully consider what is most important, then focus on those things every day. This is not a morbid state of mind, being aware of your limited days. This is wisdom, not wasting the time God has given you on planet earth. Don’t waste your life!
From: April 23, 2014
Psalm 91 was a favorite of my father’s. While lying in a hospital bed fighting cancer, he had our pastor read this Psalm to him regularly. He loved to meditate on its meaning. Psalm 91 is part of Book IV in the Psalms, which has five divisions or books organizing its 150 psalms. According to Spurgeon, the ancient rabbis saw a kind of “echo” of the Pentateuch in the Psalms. He described the Psalms as the Congregation’s “five-fold” response to God’s “five-fold word” in the Torah. Describing Psalm 91, Spurgeon said:
“It is impossible that any ill should happen to the man who is beloved of the Lord; the most crushing calamities can only shorten his journey and hasten him to his reward. Ill to him is not ill, but only good in a mysterious form. Losses enrich him, sickness is his medicine, reproach is his honor, death is his gain. No evil in the strict sense of the word can happen to him, for everything is overruled for good. Happy is he who is in such a case. He is secure where others are in peril, he lives where others die.” (The Treasury of David, Vol. 2, Part 2, 93)