He who dwells in the shelter of the most high will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust.”
– Psalm 91:1–2
These are great verses. What imagery in them. “Who dwells in the shelter of the most high,” which is what we prayed about in light of Psalm 90, “Lord, our dwelling place, us dwelling in the shelter of the most high will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.”
Psalm 91:1–2 calls us to live in the shadow of the Almighty.
Just picture your life that way today, brother or sister in Christ. You are abiding in the shadow like living, walking, breathing, standing, sitting. Everything you do in the Shadow of the Almighty. It’s the title of one of the most influential books in my life. Jim Elliot and his brothers in Christ going and trying to reach unreached people. And losing their lives as they do, and Elizabeth Elliot, his wife, writing this book about their sacrifice. She titles it In the Shadow of the Almighty because they went to that beachhead to reach this unreached tribe. They were abiding in the shadow of the Almighty, and you might think, “Well, then, how did they die if they were in the shadow of the Almighty?”
That’s the beauty that God was with them for them, and in that moment, yes, they were speared for sharing the gospel, but we know Philippians 1, “To live is Christ ,and to die is gain.” When you die in the shadow of the Almighty, you live forever. There is no better place to be than in the shadow of the Almighty to say to the Lord, verse 2, “You are my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust.”
I just want to encourage you to live today in the shadow of the Almighty, to look to God as your refuge today, as your fortress, your defender, the one in whom you trust, to live by faith today in his power at work for you, his love at work for you, his Spirit at work in you as you abide in his shadows. See your life all day today in light of Psalm 91:1–2.
Psalm 91:1–2 reminds us that God will hold us fast in his love.
Oh, God, we praise you as the most high, as the one who reigns above all. Everything and all the world, you hold it all. You hold us all in your hands. We praise you as the most high, and we thank you for the privilege of dwelling in your shelter today. God, I just pray in light of that picture of Jim Elliot and others on a beachhead going after people who’ve never heard the gospel, would love to share the good news of your grace with violent people who they knew they could lose their lives, but they also knew they were dwelling in the shelter of the most high and abiding in the shadow of the Almighty.
God, amidst whatever we’re walking through today, help us to live with this humble confidence and awareness that we are abiding in your shadow, that you are our fortress. Help us to say to you with Psalm 91, “To my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust,” and to trust as this Psalm goes on that you will deliver us, you will cover us, you will lead us, you will guide us, you will protect us, you will direct us, you will hold us fast in love and deliver us Psalm 91:14. You will protect us. Ultimately, God, you will bring us all the way home to you forever to live eternally in the shadow of the Almighty.
God, we praise you for your Word. We praise you for your promises to us. God, we praise you for your presence with us today in this way. Help us to live in light of it. And even as we pray that, we think about your promise, Jesus. To be with us always to the end of the age that comes on the heels of your command to us to make disciples of all the nations. So, God, help us to make disciples today by the power of your presence with us, to share the gospel today, and to do this.
Prayer for the Swahili People
Yes, God, we pray among all the nations. We pray for Swahili people, men, women, and children, all across the Democratic Republic of the Congo. God, please cause a million of them to be reached with the gospel. Not just in the Congo, but in countries around the Congo and Africa. Lord, we pray that they would know you as their refuge and their fortress through faith in Jesus. God, we pray that they would be reached with the good news of the Most High’s love for them. God, we pray that you would help us to follow in the footsteps of Jim Elliot. And to give our lives in any and every way you call us to. To make your love known among people, groups like them. We pray all of this according to your word in Psalm 91:1–2. In Jesus’ name, amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
