For many years Grandma, my paternal grandmother, would talk about Psalm 91. She exhorted us to believe the truth of that psalm. Grandma understood that God had provided protection for us, if we would dare to believe his word.

Grandma is in heaven now, far from the current war of terror. But the truth she believed from Psalm 91 is still living and powerful in this present day. Here is Psalm 91 from the NIV.

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and fortress, my God in whom I will trust." Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked. If you make the Most High your dwelling-even the Lord, who is my refuge-then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread upon the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent. "Because he loves me," says the Lord, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation."

He is our refuge. He is our fortress, our place of protection. His angels are charged to protect us from the pestilence, from the plagues, and from all terror. People may fall at our right and at our left, but God has provided protection for us.

In the mid 80's my wife and I experienced an attack of terror. This attack had nothing to do with Islamic fundamentalists. This Satanic attack came through a neighbor who was mentally disturbed.

After the initial attack I remember a friend telling me that God's divine protection was more real than the walls of our home in which we were sitting. God's protection is much more powerful than any biological or chemical weapons. His protection is more real than any suicide bomber.

Yes, we now in live with the reality of possible attacks of terror with the intent to kill and destroy. But the reality of God's word is greater. Dare to believe Psalm 91. Dare to live free of fear and full of faith and love in this present age.

Oh, by the way, we lived close to that mentally disturbed neighbor for several more years. It was a battle, but we chose to resist fear, and even though he manifested dangerous and bizarre behavior at times, he never harmed us in any way. We found that Grandma was right. Psalm 91 is true.


Wayne L. Williams
Autumn 2001
Atlanta, Georgia


wayne@fotwm.org
Wisdom From the Word
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