Month: July 2025

Psalm 91:1-2 ESV  He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.  ² I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

Psalm 91:1-2 NLT  ¹ Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.  ² This I declare about the Lord:  He alone is my refuge, my place of safety;
He is my God, and I trust him.

Observation

There are four names of God in these two verses, names that express His nature, His persons, His purpose, His love and care for us.  I was stopped in my reading by how the author of the psalm packed so much of who God is in so few words.

Most High is “El Elyon”.  This translates as the Supreme Authority in the universe, the Creator of all and ruler of all.

Almighty is “El Shaddai”.  This tells us He is the all-sufficient, Ever-faithful One Who is generous in His provision and has a nurturing nature.

Lord is “Jehovah, Yahweh, YHWH, I AM, Adonai”.  This is God’s primary and personal name in our Bible.  This name (Yahweh) was considered too holy to utter or write, so Adonai was often used when speaking and YHWH in writing to refer to the One True God.  This name means self- existent, eternal, everlasting, all-powerful, the God Who delivered in Exodus.

Finally, God is “Elohim”.  Elohim can be used to refer to many types of authority from judges to angels to other gods.  So, Elohim here indicates which God the author has chosen to worship and serve – the Most High, Almighty, Jehovah.  When it appears as El-Elohim (God above all other gods), it means the One True God Who redeems and dwells among His people.

Impact on Me

For me, Psalm 91 has always been a place to go for comfort, a place where I feel safe, a place where I remember that my God is with me and for me regardless of what I am feeling or facing.   I spoke these verses over my mentally ill father at his funeral because he finally found peace from fear, accusation and the confusion which dogged his life.  This psalm is a promise of my God’s care and concern for me (and you) in all of life’s joys, sorrows, challenges and failures.

It will be even more so now. When I shelter in the shadow under His wings, I will remember Who the Most High, Almighty, Eternal, Redeeming God is that I have chosen to worship, adore and serve.  He is the God above any other god that we humans can devise – power, status, wealth, performance or any other false god.  “He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; He is my God, and I trust him.”

Devotion

Lord Most High, Almighty God, the One True God, I choose to worship and serve You alone.  Under Your wings I am safe and secure.  In Your shadow I find relief from the heat and stress of life.  Let me never take for granted Who You truly are and that You chose – when I didn’t deserve it – to provide for me redemption and everything else that follows.  Search my heart for any altars constructed to idols/false gods of which I am not aware.  You alone are my God and I trust You.  In Jesus’ name I pray.

Hebrews 12: 1-3 Phillips Surrounded then as we are by these serried ranks of witnesses, let us strip off everything that hinders us, as well as the sin which dogs our feet, and let us run the race that we have to run with patience, our eyes fixed on Jesus the source and the goal of our faith. For he himself endured a cross and thought nothing of its shame because of the joy he knew would follow his suffering; and he is now seated at the right hand of God’s throne. Think constantly of him enduring all that sinful men could say against him and you will not lose your purpose or your courage.

Hebrews 12:1-3 MSG Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!

Observation

Living for Christ is a long-distance journey because it is life long.  There are times when the scenery and road are pleasant, just enough breeze to cool you off and the pace not too fast.  Then there are times that challenge you from a little to the max, when you are making your way through difficult paths, fraught with hazards, and weather heating up (the “litany of hostility”).  It is enduring through these difficult times that builds strength and endurance in our faith, in our ability to finish “this race we are in.” 

However, we are not required to just run and finish the race, but to run and finish as Jesus did.  That is the challenge.  Jesus returned mercy and grace for judgment, washed the feet of His betrayer, loved the Pharisees enough to tell them the awful truth, publicly broke Sabbath rules that did not reflect the heart and purpose of His Father, and so much more – regardless of the personal cost to Him (“he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever”).  Like Jesus, we are asked to keep our eyes on the finish, the goal, rather than what we may have to endure along the  way.

Impact on Me

There have been both phases of this race in my life – the one showered with blessings, grace and peace (breezing along with the Holy Spirit’s breeze) and those that seemed like an Iron Man through sucking mud (wondering if God has taken His eyes off me).  I have had people cheering me on and those who assured me I would never make it through.  I have lost dear friends who wanted to split a church, encouraged pastors who felt too wounded to continue, endured false accusations by others in leadership with me at church, learned to worship God regardless of the circumstances and people who wanted to steal my joy in worship and serving, and so much more. 

“Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever.”  In all the phases of my race of this Christian life, I was not perfect, but I did find the Holy Spirit running with me to build the muscle and endurance of my faith no matter what circumstance would try to be the next rock in the road or uphill battle.  I repented often and found grace in my transparency and surrender.  I took comfort in the fact that Jesus realizes the battles I faced because He became human and understands my soul’s struggle between choosing to react according to my flesh rather than responding according to His Spirit within me. “Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in.”

Devotion

Lord God, You are the author and finisher of our faith, the One Who is with us and for us through every phase of the race, the One Who became a man to know our innermost workings and then die for us to pay the ultimate price we could never pay.  I have slipped up, stumbled and even fell along the way, but You have been faithful to pick me up and encourage me on toward the finish.  I am forever grateful.  Help me to remember what Jesus endured when I am being accused, condemned and persecuted so I will not lose track of how to run this life race as Jesus did.  “Think constantly of him enduring all that sinful men could say against him and you will not lose your purpose or your courage.”  In Jesus’ name, I pray.