Psalm 91:9-16 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 91:9-16 on biblegateway.com
Verse 9Because you have made the Lord your refuge, the Most High your dwelling place,
Verse 10no evil shall befall you, no scourge come near your tent.
Verse 11For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.
Verse 12On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.
Verse 13You will tread on the lion and the adder, the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot.
Verse 14Those who love me, I will deliver; I will protect those who know my name.
Verse 15When they call to me, I will answer them; I will be with them in trouble, I will rescue them and honor them.
Verse 16With long life I will satisfy them, and show them my salvation.
Devotion
In the past few years I have made several trips to Tanzania. I have observed that, when faced with difficulty and trial, the Tanzanians don’t pray for God to lift the heavy burdens from their backs. Instead, the prayer is that God would make their backs stronger.
This Psalm has some powerful images of God’s protection for the faithful, but can we really believe in the notion that “no evil shall befall you” or that “you will not dash your foot against a stone?” We know that the faithful and the unfaithful alike are afflicted with illness, poverty and abuse. I’m left wondering what God really means when He offers protection.
Here’s what the Tanzanians know: the really important verse in this Psalm comes at the end. “When they call to me, I will answer them; I will be with them in trouble...” Life with God is not free from burden. Life with God means that, even through difficulty, we are given an indescribable strength that can only come from God.
Prayer
Lord God, when trials in life come my way, make my back stronger. Amen.