Most people know that dialling 911 in the United States will get them in touch with emergency help. It’s so simple that even pre-schoolers have saved the lives of family members by using it. Three numbers do it all.
In an emergency, help is as close as three pushes on the phone keypad. Often, though, the situations we face cannot be remedied by human rescuers. Many times, our crisis requires divine assistance. When that happens, we can call a different kind of 911—–Psalm 91 v 1. There we find the help and protection of our Almighty God. This verse reminds us that God is our “shelter” and that we can rest in His shadow.
When we face the crises of life, we often try to survive on our own. We forget that what we need most, God’s protection and the comfort of His presence, are available for the asking. The next time spiritual danger strikes, dial Psalm 91:1.”
When I was growing up, we lived out in the country and we kept chickens. We had fresh eggs every day and the chickens seemed to enjoy their free-range lives. Every now and again baby chicks would appear and I always loved to watch the little chicks’ heads coming out from under the mother hen’s feathers. She was protecting them with her own body. Verse 4 of this Psalm says, “He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armour and protection.”
As the hen protects her chicks, our Loving God protects us so we need not fear life’s dark shadows when we abide under the shadow of his protective wings.
