FINDING SECURITY DURING INSECURE TIMES

Introduction

-We could say that for the past month to month-and-a-half our world has literally been rocked. And you might feel like there is no stability, safety, or security in your life.

~We now face an unknown future. There are health scares and economic scares. For most generations now alive, nothing has shaken the entire world like this virus has.

~Not that bigger things haven’t happened in history—obviously there have been greater world problems and disasters—but most generations now alive have never experienced them.

-So, a lot of people are looking for a place of safety and security. And maybe that’s you—you are looking for some solid ground that will stop your world from reeling back and forth.

-It makes me think of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, which is the world’s tallest building. It rises more than 2,700 feet—over half a mile tall. It has 160 floors and is twice as tall as the Empire State Building in New York City. It is home to the world’s fastest elevator that travels at 40 miles per hour. The Burj Khalifa also hosts the world’s highest outdoor observation deck (on the 124th floor) and the world’s highest swimming pool (on the 76th floor).

~Now, me personally, I would never visit that place, because, first, I don’t like heights. But, second, you would think that such a place would sway and tilt—that since it is so big it would have no stability to it. Kind of like the world we seem to be living in now—big problems that take away from our stability.

~But the secret to the stability of this massive building is found underground. Before construction began to rise up, workers spent a year digging and pouring the massive foundation that supports the building. The foundation contains some 58,900 cubic yards of concrete weighing more than 110,000 tons. The building is safe because the foundation is solid.

-And that is what you and I need now—we need a solid foundation. We need to feel some security where there doesn’t seem to be any. And the Bible points us in that direction.

-In the psalm that we are looking at today, the psalmist points his readers to the one and only place of security in times of trouble—a solid foundation to stand on through our trials.

-And yes, right now there seems to be constant flex and change and upheavals that bring with it a sense of insecurity—but nevertheless, we can find security in the Lord.

Psalm 91:1–2 ESV

1 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.”

I) The habitation of our security

-The psalmist begins by talking about the one WHO DWELLS IN THE SHELTER OF THE MOST HIGH

~Here he talks about habitation—the place where we ought to place our roots and stay

-You notice that the psalmist says that we are to dwell—that word means we are to remain, we are to stay, we are to linger

-This isn’t talking about a place where we visit for just a short time, but it is where we are to go and remain and stay there. We are to dwell, stay, remain, and linger—we are to inhabit. Because if we don’t stay and linger in this habitation, we take ourselves out from under the protection and security that is offered.

-Imagine, if you will, that this area of Alabama once again was hit with storms that brought with it numerous tornadoes and other destructive forces as has happened here in the past. And let’s say that you go to a friend’s house who has a storm shelter and you enter the shelter. As long as you stay in the shelter you are safe from the storm. But you get antsy, or maybe you stop trusting the shelter, so after about 2 minutes of being there you run out of the shelter. You don’t stay, dwell, linger, or inhabit, but you leave.

~Well, now you are back outside in the storm with the danger of hail and lightning and flying debris, not to mention the tornado itself. You are now exposed to danger. But then you go into another friend’s storm shelter. And you are safe for a while. But then you get antsy again and don’t trust it again, so after another 2 minutes you leave and go out into the storm and are exposed to all those dangers again. So, you go into a third shelter and leave again, a fourth shelter and leave again.

-What I am trying to illustrate here is that in order to have the benefits of safety and security from the shelter, you can’t keep leaving it. You have to stop leaving the place of safety and exposing yourself to the danger or trouble. Once you are in that place of security, you need to linger there, stay there, remain there, dwell there—you need to inhabit.

-The psalmist is saying that the one who receives the benefit of security is the one who dwells and stays and lingers and doesn’t leave the security that the Lord God offers.

~We make the Lord God our place of habitation, our place of residence, our dwelling place, and then we find safety and security when we stay there.

~But if we only run to the Lord at certain times of trouble, and then run away from the Lord when everything seem to be going fine because we think we have it under control, and then run back to the Lord when things get difficult, and then run away from the Lord again

~All that back and forth isn’t dwelling. God is not some sort of hotel or inn where you go to visit for a time and then leave.

-Now, when we talk about dwelling with God, we are talking about seeking and being in His presence. We are talking about revolving our lives around Him in every area of our life. We are talking about constant cultivation of relationship. There is a desire to be with Him, to sit ourselves down in His presence and stay there.

~The psalmist expressed this:

Psalm 84:1–2 (ESV)

1 How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts!

2 My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God.

-How do we come into God’s presence? There isn’t a centralized temple or tabernacle.

~It’s when we seek God’s presence in His Word, in prayer, in quiet meditation.

~The psalmist again said:

Psalm 119:114 ESV

114 You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in your word.

-Jesus described it:

John 15:7 ESV

7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

-When God through His Word and presence becomes our dwelling place, where we constantly linger with the Lord, we find our foundation, our stability, our security in His habitation.

-But there is something else that I want you to notice in this psalm:

II) The host of our security

-The Lord God is the host of the habitation we dwell in, and our psalmist uses some very specific descriptions about God.

-In fact, you will notice that the psalmist uses four different words or names to describe the God to whom he runs for habitation—he wants to make sure that the readers don’t think of any other God or being or entity to host the habitation of his or her security.

-You see, Allah and Muhammed will never be the place where you can dwell in security. Buddha will never be the place where you can dwell in security. Confucius will never be the place where you can dwell in security. The Brahma of Hinduism or any of the other emanations of gods in Hinduism will never be the place where you can dwell in security.

~No other religion or philosophy offers you a habitation of security that is hosted by the ultimate, all-powerful, eternal God who loves His people enough to offer this security.

-The first name that he uses is MOST HIGH—ELYON. The Hebrew word used in this name refers to something that is topmost or uppermost. And it refers to the fact that the God of the Bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is the only exalted God.

~Sure, there are a lot of religions that call their idols “gods,” but they are nothing but manmade travesties. There is only One God, and He is the highest, uppermost, most exalted Being that there is in existence. All other beings are lower.

-The prophet Jeremiah recognized:

Jeremiah 10:6 ESV

6 There is none like you, O Lord; you are great, and your name is great in might.

-And so, the question we have to ask ourselves is: Why would we try to find safety and security in a lower being—be it a different god or be it in ourselves or in another human. There is no god above our God.

-Then the psalmist calls Him the Almighty. This involves the Hebrew word SHADDAI. There is a little more speculation about what this exactly refers to. Some see this as coming from a word referring to mountain dwellers or highlanders. Speaking again of the majesty of exaltation.

~But others see this as coming from a word meaning DESTROYER or OVERCOMER.

-When we use the English word Almighty, it obviously combines two words: ALL and MIGHTY, meaning that there is none more mighty then He. If we bring all this together, the psalmist is saying that our God is high and lifted up and is able to overcome and destroy the enemies. There is none more powerful than He.

-When you think of the enemies that come our way, be it a microscopic virus, a radical terrorist, or even Satan himself, none of them has any power in comparison to our God. There is not one thing that exists that can overcome or overpower our God. Even if you took all the power of everything that exists and combine it, it would still pale in comparison to the power and might of our ALMIGHTY GOD.

~Therefore, if we dwell and abide with the Almighty, nothing can get to us. Nothing can break through God’s power to ultimately get to us—to ruin us for eternity. We are secure in the Almighty.

-Then in v. 2 the psalmist uses God’s revealed name to Israel: YAHWEH / JEHOVAH / THE LORD. This is the covenant name that God used to reveal Himself to His people—He is the Great I AM, the self-existent God, Creator of All.

-But by using the covenant name of God the psalmist reminds his readers that God, in His mercy, has reached down to humanity to come into a special relationship with humans based on a promise. God created a covenant with mankind and made Himself responsible in keeping that covenant. God will not back out of any covenant promises He has made and will not back out of the covenant love that He shows to those with whom He has made covenant.

-Of course, that begs the question, who is in covenant with God? Jesus said that His shed blood on the cross is the blood of a new and everlasting covenant. And so, God makes a covenant with those who believe and trust in the substitutionary death of Jesus on their behalf.

~When you believe through faith and repentance that Jesus died and rose again you belong to God for all of eternity. God will keep this covenant. Even when you are faithless, He remains faithful.

-You don’t have to worry about God being a God that is ready to turn His back on you at the drop of a hat. God has made a covenant and will keep that covenant always—no matter what you think or how you feel. So, rest in the security of a covenant keeping God.

-And the last term that the psalmist uses for God in these verses is MY GOD. The psalmist made it personal. God was personally his God. The psalmist had a relationship with God.

-And therein lies the rub. If we want the security that God offers, He has to be MY God. We have to belong to Him and He has to belong to us. Not everybody is a child of God. Not everybody belongs to God.

~Sure, everybody is created by God. Everybody is loved by God in that He sent His Son to die for them. But only those who come to God by being born again through a trust in Jesus Christ is a covenant child of God.

-So, for you so be able to call Him the name MY GOD, you have to belong to Him. And you only belong to Him through Jesus. That is the God of safety and security.

-So, to find safety we need to inhabit the habitation that has the right host. Not just anybody will do. We dwell with the God of the Bible.

III) The haven of our security

-A haven is a place where you are protected from danger. We’ve already seen that we are to dwell in the habitation, and God is the host where we find our security. The psalmist now uses several words to describe the place of protection in God where we are to dwell.

-He says that our haven is a place of shelter. The word for shelter describes a hiding place, a place of secrecy, a place that is inaccessible to danger.

~Imagine if someone broke into your house, you might lock yourself up in a bedroom or closet. You are in a hiding place where the bad guy cannot access you. Or if a tornado is coming, there is a storm shelter or an inner room in which you go in order to hide from the tornado in protection.

-This is our God. Dwelling in the haven of God, inhabiting the place of presence with God, hides us from ultimate danger. And when I say ultimate danger, I look to the overall perspective of eternity as well as the here and now. God can protect from dangers on this earth if He so chooses. Sometimes He chooses not to. But ultimately nothing will change your status with God once you are with Him through Christ. The devil can’t get to you because God is your shelter, your hiding place. You are inaccessible.

-But then the psalmist also says that when you dwell in that shelter, you abide in the shadow.

~Imagine, if you will, a mother eagle whose eggs just hatched. That mother eagle gathers her young under her wings to protect them from the elements and protect them from predators. They are under the shadow of the mother’s wing.

~Or, imagine, on a very rainy day you have no choice but to go out into the rain. You have an umbrella. As long as you stay under the umbrella you are dry. When you get out from under the shadow of the umbrella you get wet.

-God brings us under the shadow of His wings. In fact, David said:

Psalm 17:8 (ESV)

8 Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings,

-God hides us under the umbrella of His protection. We can dwell there and be protected, but if we choose to move out from under that protection we make ourselves vulnerable.

-In v. 2 the psalmist goes on to describe the haven as a refuge. A refuge is special place of protection where you are declared as one who is watched over by another.

~Think about those animal refuges or wildlife refuges that governments or societies set up. They are saying that any animal within the border of that refuge is under the watchful eye of another who will do whatever they can to keep that animal safe.

-Our God is a refuge. He is saying that any under His protection cannot be reached by hostile outside forces.

-But then the psalmist says it is a fortress. The picture is of a mountain stronghold that is a place of difficult access, making it near impossible for invaders and armies to reach and penetrate. Or it even pictures an eagle’s nest that is built so high up on a mountain ridge that no predator would be able to gain access.

-This is our protection in God. It is a shelter, a shadow, a refuge, a fortress. Our God calls us to inhabit and remain in the haven that He hosts for His children, for therein you will find security.

IV) The humble confession of our security

-In v. 2 the psalmist writes that he will verbally say, declare, confess that God is our haven of security. The psalmist will say out loud that this truth is real, and he declares it and believes it.

-Now, I am far from someone who would advocate a prosperity gospel version of positive confession. To them, as long as you muster up enough faith and say the words, God is under an obligation to make it happen. Like if you have enough faith and confess that God is going to give you a million dollars then it will happen. That is not truth. That is not Bible.

-Rather, this confession is an agreement with God’s promises, and you confess that you have faith that God will fulfill His promises. To confess in this way is to agree by faith that what it says about God is true.

~But then it doesn’t just stop with words, it moves into your actions. You not only say the promise, you believe the promise and live like you believe the promise. Faith without works is dead.

-And so, it’s one thing to think that you believe that God is your refuge. It’s another to verbalize it. It’s a whole other thing to live like you believe that God is your refuge and fortress. This isn’t presuming on God, it’s faith in His Word.

-You see, when you confess that God is your refuge and fortress, you are saying that God can protect you from troubles on earth, but if He chooses not to do so then ultimately He will bring you into His presence in heaven where He will be your refuge and fortress for all eternity.

-But the other thing is that you can use this confession as prayer—praying this Scripture to God. Really, the entire psalm makes a great outline of prayer. But you can use it to pray something like this:

~Lord, show me how to dwell and inhabit with you as my shelter and shadow. Lord, during these troubling times be my refuge and fortress for you are the God in whom I trust.

Conclusion

-This is our God. He calls us to inhabit and remain in the shadow of His protection, seeking Him for refuge and having faith that He will be what He says He will be.

-This is needed during a time of pandemic and upheaval. And Christian, I hope that this week you will read over these verses (and really read the entire psalm) and pray the verses and cling to their promises.

-But ultimately this is a picture of our eternal destiny. You see, as sinners we are under God’s condemnation, and His eternal wrath will fall on us. But Jesus took that wrath on Himself. And when we believe in Jesus Christ, He is our shelter and shadow and refuge and fortress that protects us from that wrath. Really, God is saving us from Himself.

~If you dwell in Christ you are safe, and if not then you are lost…