Daily Devotion | Day 285
“You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday” (Psalm 91:5-6, ESV).
Fear interferes with faith. Where there’s faith, there’s no fear. And where there’s fear, there’s no faith. It is faith that fills the heart with courage, confidence and trust. The root of fear is insecurity. What God is saying in today’s Scripture passage is, the safest place for you to be is under His shelter. Dwelling under the shelter of the Almighty is a choice you make. Blessed are you when the Lord spreads His feathers over you. Awareness of His divine protection precludes fear.
Let’s talk about some important details in Psalm 91:5-6. The Lord has many blessings for those who dwell in His presence. One such blessing is fearlessness in the face of danger and adversity. The Lord identifies four key things you will not fear. Let’s look at each of them:
1. You will not fear the terror of the night. This may be news for some of you, but night time is a favorite time for the enemy to strike terror. There are few reasons for this. One is that during night hours people tend to have their guard down. As Paul stated, “For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night” (1 Thessalonians 5:7). Of course, there are exceptions to this, but the norm is correctly stated by Paul. “Night,” as used in this context, is both metaphorical and literal. Because people generally are less aware of themselves at night, when terror strikes, they’re mostly unprepared. Therefore, they’re more prone to be taken unawares, resulting in panic and terror.
But God says, no matter the terror that strikes by night, you will not fear. He didn’t say there will be no terror. He says you will not fear. This is an important clarification. Our real problem is not that we have a problem. The real problem we have is our fear of the problem. If you’re afraid of something, you’re unconsciously acknowledging that the thing you fear has power over you. The reverse is equally true. When you refuse to be frightened, you’re stating that you have superior advantage over the thing in question. And, this is what God says will happen because you dwell under His shelter.
If you have a pattern of being afraid, you need to examine the nature of your relationship with God.
2. You will not fear the arrow that flies by day. Spiritual warfare is a 24/7 operation. The adversary is defeated, but he wants to take down with him as many as he can. The “arrow” the Bible is talking about is a spiritual weapon of the enemy. An arrow needs a target. The enemy doesn’t discriminate. Whoever is vulnerable and is in range, he will fire. God is revealing to us that there is an arrow of the enemy which flies by day. This means you need to be aware of yourself even during the day, because powers of darkness don’t limit their activity to the night.
Arrows are flying all the time in the spiritual realm. Only God knows the evil those arrows can inflict. You need to stay safe. God’s promise is, because you abide in His presence, you will not fear the arrow that flies. The arrow cannot breach the wall of protection God has set around you. Take a deep breath. You’re safe in the Father’s presence.
3. You will not fear the pestilence that stalks in darkness. Satan is a stalker. To strike, he first must follow the target and gather as much information as possible. Here again, God is revealing to us that there is a pestilence that walks in darkness. It doesn’t walk aimlessly. It is a malevolent force walking with a purpose, seeking to inflict maximum harm on as many victims as possible. But, you will not fear the pestilence, for you dwell in the secret place of the Almighty. When pestilence strikes, many people become frightened. You will not be one of them. What frightens others will not frighten you.
4. You will not fear the destruction that wastes at noonday. By now you have noticed that there seems to be a set time of the day when nefarious attacks are launched. God is revealing to us that powers of darkness pick certain times of the day for their activity. We will do well to keep this in mind. At noon, there is a plan to lay waste human life and cause widespread destruction. When you hear things happening don’t be quick to assume they’re ‘normal.’ Everything that happens, someone or something is behind it. Things don’t just happen. The Lord says, you will not fear the noonday destruction.
Seek shelter under the shadow of the Most High. And remain there. You are secure when you are where God wants you to be and doing what God wants you to do. Be not afraid.
Blessing: May the Lord open your eyes to see that He is an encircling wall of fire around you, for your protection. Amen.
For further study: Psalm 121
Higher-Self Realities 