Answer: He who DWELLS in the shelter of the Most High! He who is so near to The Almighty that he is able to fall and rest under His Shadow -v.1. He who has made the Most High his habitation -v.9!!
As we saw yesterday, Psalm 91 (Part 1): Personalized Scripture Prayer, the protective promises listed in psalm 91 are reassuring and comforting, instantly reminding the reader of the awesomeness of God and His ultimate power over all that He has made. But it appears that they are designed for those with an uncommon level of intimacy with God. They do not really seem to be for Christians who have been redeemed but only visit the habitation of the Lord occasionally or even frequently. No, these promises are not meant for visitors of any sort, but for RESIDENTS of The Secret Place. They are for those who are glued at the hips to their Source, who fear being unglued from that Source more than any other thing in their life.
Who fits this description? The recipient of these promises lives with the mentality that the Lord’s Secret Place is his abode or habitation, and therefore his primary address. He is primarily a citizen of heaven and his earthly abode is his secondary, and temporary address. He lives with the mindset of a pilgrim in this world, minimally attached to his blessings and possessions. He keeps his focus on Kingdom goals in all that he does, desiring only to please God. He abides in Christ and Christ abides in him; he is a branch of The Vine and he lives, moves and has his being in The Vine. Because of this fixed connection to The Vine, the fruits of The Vines’s Spirit are readily visible in his life to all who come across him: ‘But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control’- Gal. 5:22-23
Dwelling in The Secret Place of God, with God, implies living and doing everything by His grace and Spirit, as well as speaking only words that God finds pleasing (Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen – Eph. 4:29). Moreover, it implies only having thoughts in our minds that can pass the smell test of God’s Holy Spirit, since external good or holy deeds are not the only requirements of those who rest in God’s shadow as we learn from Proverbs 16:2 – All the ways of a man are clean in his own sight, But the LORD weighs the motives- and from Psalm 44:21 – Would not God find this out? For He knows the secrets of the heart.
Given the above, who are those who abide in Jesus and can confidently search their hearts, words or actions and conclude that they have a right to these powerful promises for Dwellers of The Secret Place? Who is holy enough to assert these promises? Yes, thank God for Jesus, whose death and resurrection has redeemed us and given us unfettered access to the Holy of Holies. But after the access has been granted for all redeemed believers, who is pure and holy enough to actually dwell in the secret place, to abide in Jesus 24/7? Whose thoughts and motives can withstand the scrutiny of a God who searches the hearts of men and is said to hate sin?
We can only thank God for readily acknowledging that none of us will ever achieve perfection of holiness in this world. We therefore appreciate His insisting that STRIVING for holiness SHOULD be our #1 priority in this life. Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord – Heb. 12:14. The God who is all-seeing can readily assess whether we are actually striving for holiness or just taking the redemption His Son offered us for granted. We are promised grace and the help of the Spirit in this call to a life-long strife for holiness, given that it will always be a battle that is in direct opposition to our human inclinations. We can therefore assume that these promises can be asserted confidently by the man whose conscience is clear that he is daily striving for holiness, and God appreciates his daily efforts.
Even then, how many people can make the claim to a successful, daily, striving for holiness in thoughts, words and actions? Certainly not most of us. However, there is another way for the redeemed Christian who repeatedly fails at efforts of holiness to lay hold of these promises with a 99.9% confidence: By appealing to that generous attribute of God known as Divine Mercy. This of course comes with the caveat that the redeemed appellant is living a life dedicated towards showing mercy to others (relieving the misery of others in thoughts and words or by prayers and deeds), even as he falls frequently in his own efforts at holiness. He can then humbly approach the Throne of Mercy in confident assurance of God’s Word to those who show mercy and declare the prayer promises of Psalm 91 as his own in the name of Jesus. For God will never fail His Word – Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy -Matt.5:7 and For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment – Ja.2:13.
Once again, how many of the faithful can hold God up to His promise of showing mercy to them because they have been merciful to others? I’m sure God is interested in that particular head-count! Well, I believe there is yet a third path through which most of us Christians who have not yet become successful at generously showing mercy to others can appeal to God for the level of protection promised in this psalm. We can approach the Throne of Mercy with humble and repentant hearts, sorry for missing the opportunities God had brought our way to share His mercy. We can recall God’s Word in Romans 9:15 – For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” We come hoping to be one of those whom God will choose to have mercy upon despite our not having lived up to His call to personal holiness and His desire for us to be vessels of His mercy to others.
This is where most of us find ourselves. I know that God answers many of us in this situation with the hope that if we will not proactively respond to His calls for personal holiness and distribution of mercy from reading or hearing His Word, we will consequently heed those calls out of gratitude for our undeserved favors and answered prayers. “The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart exults, And with my song I shall thank Him.” Ps. 28:7.
May we, the Followers of Christ, increasingly thirst for God’s holiness and continually grow in sensitivity to the promptings of God’s Spirit in our lives. May we always keep in mind that mercy unto others begets mercy from God….Amen.
Hilltop Thoughts, Valley Strengths 