November 29th, 2022
The Word of God is compared to many things throughout the Bible, but Jesus most often compared it to seed. All the life in a seed is locked up inside of them until they’re in the right conditions and it’s the same way with the Word of God. It has the capacity to work miracles in our lives, but only when it’s planted in the soil of our hearts and grows life! The other thing we have to realize about seeds is that they don’t grow overnight but have to be given the time and attention necessary.
I truly believe I am living for the Lord today because of the seeds of God’s word that were planted in me when I was a child. They were seeds I didn’t understand at the time, but God’s word carries power even when we don’t understand. When I was 9 years old, I was required to memorize Psalm 91 because I attended a school that valued the Word of God. I remember our teacher talking about the power of that psalm. She told a specific story of God’s protection as she prayed it and told us how she then quoted it whenever she had a trial or crisis, and God always came through. Her testimony had such an impact on me that I decided if it was good enough for her, it was good enough for me. I memorized Psalm 91 front to back and began to quote it to the extent that years later, even when I wasn’t living for the Lord, I would say Psalm 91 whenever I was afraid or had a problem.
If you’ve never read Psalm 91, I would recommend reading it all the way through. It’s such a powerful passage of Scripture—full of promises for the child of God. However, as is true for everything in the Word of God, there are conditions laid out that qualify us for those promises!
The first condition is found in verse 1, which says,
“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.”
The second is found in verse 9, where it says,
“Because you have made the LORD your dwelling place— the Most High, who is my refuge— no evil shall be allowed to befall you…”
The third and final condition mentioned in this psalm contains two parts and is found in verse
14 which says,
“Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him because he knows my name.”
As you can see, the promises of Psalm 91 are wrapped up in our decision to love and to abide. God doesn’t ask us to prove our ability. He doesn’t ask us to meet a certain standard. He doesn’t ask us to demonstrate our own righteousness. In fact, the Bible says our good works are like filthy rags to Him. Nothing we could ever do could compare to His goodness and glory. What does He ask of us? He asks us to choose Him—to choose to abide; choose to trust Him enough to take refuge in Him. He asks us to hold fast to Him, not out of duty, but in love. Jesus echoed the heart of the Father in this when He said,
“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-33)
Again Jesus said,
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love” (John 15:9-10)
Abiding is not a casual relationship. It’s not coming and staying for a minute and going back out into the world. Abiding is faithfully remaining and refusing to be removed. When we abide or dwell in the Word of God and in His love, then and only then does the seed of God’s word begin to grow in us and do what Jesus said it would—which is to set us free.
This week, think about the promises that God has given you and remember that He’s not asking you to strive and fight for those things. His promises are tied not to your struggle but to your obedience. God is after your heart and what He wants is your love. Look at these promises God has given you, just from Psalm 91. I encourage you to meditate on these this week. When you abide in Him, these promises are for you:
I truly believe I am living for the Lord today because of the seeds of God’s word that were planted in me when I was a child. They were seeds I didn’t understand at the time, but God’s word carries power even when we don’t understand. When I was 9 years old, I was required to memorize Psalm 91 because I attended a school that valued the Word of God. I remember our teacher talking about the power of that psalm. She told a specific story of God’s protection as she prayed it and told us how she then quoted it whenever she had a trial or crisis, and God always came through. Her testimony had such an impact on me that I decided if it was good enough for her, it was good enough for me. I memorized Psalm 91 front to back and began to quote it to the extent that years later, even when I wasn’t living for the Lord, I would say Psalm 91 whenever I was afraid or had a problem.
If you’ve never read Psalm 91, I would recommend reading it all the way through. It’s such a powerful passage of Scripture—full of promises for the child of God. However, as is true for everything in the Word of God, there are conditions laid out that qualify us for those promises!
The first condition is found in verse 1, which says,
“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.”
The second is found in verse 9, where it says,
“Because you have made the LORD your dwelling place— the Most High, who is my refuge— no evil shall be allowed to befall you…”
The third and final condition mentioned in this psalm contains two parts and is found in verse
14 which says,
“Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him because he knows my name.”
As you can see, the promises of Psalm 91 are wrapped up in our decision to love and to abide. God doesn’t ask us to prove our ability. He doesn’t ask us to meet a certain standard. He doesn’t ask us to demonstrate our own righteousness. In fact, the Bible says our good works are like filthy rags to Him. Nothing we could ever do could compare to His goodness and glory. What does He ask of us? He asks us to choose Him—to choose to abide; choose to trust Him enough to take refuge in Him. He asks us to hold fast to Him, not out of duty, but in love. Jesus echoed the heart of the Father in this when He said,
“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-33)
Again Jesus said,
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love” (John 15:9-10)
Abiding is not a casual relationship. It’s not coming and staying for a minute and going back out into the world. Abiding is faithfully remaining and refusing to be removed. When we abide or dwell in the Word of God and in His love, then and only then does the seed of God’s word begin to grow in us and do what Jesus said it would—which is to set us free.
This week, think about the promises that God has given you and remember that He’s not asking you to strive and fight for those things. His promises are tied not to your struggle but to your obedience. God is after your heart and what He wants is your love. Look at these promises God has given you, just from Psalm 91. I encourage you to meditate on these this week. When you abide in Him, these promises are for you:
- God will deliver you from the traps of the enemy (vs. 3)
- God will deliver you from deadly disease (vs. 3)
- You will find refuge in the shelter of his wings (vs. 4)
- His faithfulness will shield you (vs. 4)
- You will have nothing to fear—day or night (vs. 5-6)
- Even if ten thousand die around you, you will be protected (vs. 8)
- No evil shall be allowed to befall you (vs. 10)
- No plague will be allowed in your home (vs. 10)
- He will command His angels to guard you in all your ways (vs. 11)
- He will deliver you (vs. 14)
- He will answer you when you call to Him (vs. 15)
- He will be with you in trouble (vs. 15)
- He will rescue you and honor you (vs. 15)
- He will satisfy you with long life (vs. 16)
- He will show you His salvation (vs. 16)
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