Our Living God. El Chay!

Psalm 91

My Refuge and My Fortress

91 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
    will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
² I will say^[a] to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,
    my God, in whom I trust.”

³ For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler
    and from the deadly pestilence.
⁴ He will cover you with his pinions,
    and under his wings you will find refuge;
    his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
⁵ You will not fear the terror of the night,
    nor the arrow that flies by day,
⁶ nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
    nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.

⁷ A thousand may fall at your side,
    ten thousand at your right hand,
    but it will not come near you.
⁸ You will only look with your eyes
    and see the recompense of the wicked.

⁹ Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place—
    the Most High, who is my refuge^[b]—
¹⁰ no evil shall be allowed to befall you,
    no plague come near your tent.

¹¹ For he will command his angels concerning you
    to guard you in all your ways.
¹² On their hands they will bear you up,
    lest you strike your foot against a stone.
¹³ You will tread on the lion and the adder;
    the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.

¹⁴ “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;
    I will protect him, because he knows my name.
¹⁵ When he calls to me, I will answer him;
    I will be with him in trouble;
    I will rescue him and honor him.
¹⁶ With long life I will satisfy him
    and show him my salvation.”

I have been clinging to Psalm 91 this week. It is a passage that I run to when life’s events come at me at breakneck pace and threaten my peace. I am blessed and have no serious issues, but sometimes just facing the challenges life throws at us can feel almost overwhelming—if I did not have my Strong Tower to run into.

Take for instance Thursday. I walked into the lobby of my condominium building and was immediately faced with imminent danger. An intruder had our concierge and our maintenance man in a standoff. They were keeping their distance behind the counter. Not I. Since I was unaware of what was happening and had entered through a side door, I thought the man was a neighbor I had not yet met and that he was at the counter waiting to get a package or ask a question. Little did I know he meant harm to the two very tense people behind the counter. In my ignorance, I walked right up to the man and stood behind him, intending to wait my turn for services. The next thing I knew, our wonderful, brave concierge came out from behind the counter, grabbed me in a bear hug, and scooted me out the door I had come in. It was all over so fast, and the police arrived minutes later to take over.

I was a little shaken, but had several errands that I felt had to be run, so I started down the highway. My car with only 12,000 miles on it started hesitating as if there were something badly wrong with it. I headed straight for the dealership and found that although I have a great warranty, this problem might not be covered and it could be thousands of dollars. Just to diagnose it, I had to leave the car there for 3-5 days, upsetting the apple cart of my packed schedule.

You get the idea of some of the not tragic but unsettling things that just kept happening, surprise after surprise. I knew what I had to do.

On Friday, I spent the day with the Lord. I needed refuge. I needed Him to send His angels to guard my ways. I needed to crawl under His wings and hide under His pinions. He did not fail me. He was a Strong Fortress. He put His Shield and Buckler in front of me and blocked any further attacks on me.  He gave me His peace and strengthened my soul, which I badly needed.

When I think of God as my refuge and fortress, I think of His name El Chay. I wanted to share this name with you today in case you are also needing to run into the fortress of His love and power and take refuge.

Another meaning of that name is “God is my dwelling place.” Since Friday, I have been so aware that I am dwelling in Him as He has invited us to do. I am literally living in the safety of His arms, and it brings calm and assurance.  He and His angels are battling for me, and I can put down the fight myself. Ten thousand things may come at me, but He will defeat and deflect each one, and not let them harm me. I am precious to Him, and He is awesome in power, so I really have nothing to fear. He is sovereign over anything that may try to strike fear in my heart.

God has always dwelt among us. At one time, he dwelt in a tent among the Israelites, but through Jesus, we have something far better. He dwells in us. Our bodies are His temple and He lives permanently in us. Even more mysteriously and miraculously, we dwell in Him. You can’t get closer to someone than that you live in Him and He lives in you. John 15:4-5 says:

⁴ Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. ⁵ I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

Are you needing refuge from troubles, circumstances, or maybe even your own thoughts today? Climb into your Fortress. Hide under His wings. Allow the Lord to hide you, comfort you, and let you put down the fight while He fights your battles for you. I am praying for you as you read this.