We have been busy. On June 29, we parked the motorhome and began renting an apartment in SW Allen County near our former home. Of course we did not have any furniture, so we have also been furniture shopping. Today the bulk of our furniture arrived, so except for needing to put things away and get better organized, we are starting to feel like we have a home again.

We did take a short break from the apartment this week and camped with Madeleine at a nearby Jellystone campground. We had a good time just taking advantage of the amenities at the campground and being with our granddaughter.

I’ve been feeling better since getting off the “nasty drug”. The side effects are less and I generally feel well. My next set of scans are scheduled for July 31. Your prayers for reduced cancer in the liver are appreciated.

I spoke last Sunday at church on Psalm 91. This psalm has been a comfort to Joan and I during our journey through cancer. My message is below. I hope you find comfort from these words:

When we read the Psalms, we need to remember that we are reading a different type of literature than what most of the rest of the Bible is written in. The Psalms are part poetry, and part Wisdom Literature. Poets use similes (comparisons) and hyperbole (exaggerations) to make their points. Wisdom Literature tells us how to live a righteous life. Wisdom Literature tells us how to live our lives in ways that are pleasing to God and generally lead to success. However, we need to be careful not to take everything in Wisdom Literature as a specific promise from God to us.

Psalm 91 is not attributed to any author. Commentators do not agree on when the Psalm was written.

Psalm 91: 1-2

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High

    will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

The Psalm starts with the word, “Whoever”. This opportunity is available to all who are willing to pay the price. It reminds me of John 3:16. God’s salvation is open to all.

Verse 1 describes a believer who comes to God in need of security and rest.  The wording, probably reminded the Hebrews of the temple which represented God’s presence here on earth.

Some commentators prefer the wording in the KJV of the Bible that states that that whoever dwells in the secret place of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. This secret place is hidden from the world. It is set apart for believers to be alone with their God.

The Psalmist then says in verse 2 that he will say that God is his refuge and his fortress, his God in whom he trusts. Calling God “the Almighty” indicated that there is no higher power than God.

It is clear that the Psalmist believes that God provides protection, safety and security. We can trust God for his protection.

A refuge is a place that provides shelter or protection. We seek refuge when we are overwhelmed or when we need relief.

Where do you run for refuge? The world runs to drugs, overuse of alcohol, thrill-seeking behaviors, shopping and fantasy. The lost search for ways to provide security or to escape reality that never satisfies or provides real security.

Believers should run to God. Believers have a refuge in Yahweh.

It’s also interesting that the psalmist used several different names for God. The Most High refers to the possessor of heaven and earth. Our God owns everything. The Almighty refers to the God who provides for us. It’s not enough that has the resources to meet our needs, he provides the resources to us.  LORD, written in all CAPS which most Bibles use as a translation for the name Yahweh, was the unspoken name of God.  It means that He is faithful to his word. He keeps His promises. The name God refers to His power. It was first used in relationship to creation in Genesis 1:1.

The God who has possessions, provision, promise and power is ready to protect us.

Verses: 3-8

3 Surely he will save you

    from the fowler’s snare

    and from the deadly pestilence.

4 He will cover you with his feathers,

    and under his wings you will find refuge;

    his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

5 You will not fear the terror of night,

    nor the arrow that flies by day,

6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,

    nor the plague that destroys at midday.

7 A thousand may fall at your side,

    ten thousand at your right hand,

    but it will not come near you.

8 You will only observe with your eyes

    and see the punishment of the wicked.

After declaring that there is safety, security and refuge in the presence of the LORD, God Almighty, the writer then describes a list of difficulties that one might find himself in. Many of these are unseen types of problems.

In verse 3 he says that God will save from you the fowler’s snare and pestilence. It does not say that God would prevent some tragedy from happening. It does not say that we would never be caught in a trap. Being saved from the snare means that you were in the snare and got rescued from it. Let me say that again…Being saved from the snare means that you were in the snare and got rescued from it.  Being saved from the pestilence is another way of being rescued from a deadly problem.  I believe my cancer to be a deadly problem…you may have other examples.  HE saves us from our deadly problems!

Verse 4 paints a picture of being shielded from danger by a giant, powerful, loving, bird, who protects us. Again this is where we find refuge. The Psalmist may have been thinking of Deuteronomy 32:11, where God compared Himself to an eagle that carried the Israelites on His wings.

Then in verse 4 it says: his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.  God is faithful to His word and His promises.  His faithfulness should give us comfort in the midst of troubles. The shield and the rampart are defensive weapons used to protect.  It would take more time than we have today if I were to begin to list the ways God has provided comfort to Joan and me over these past nine months.

This leads us to verse 5 where we are told that we need not fear in the day or night.  This is easier said than done for many of us.  Fear can destroy us. Doubting worrying and fear play on our minds, making it difficult to focus on anything other than our problems. The psalmist tells us that since we are protected by God we have nothing to fear.  We do not need to fear the attacks in daytime that we can see coming or the attacks at night that catch us off guard. We can take comfort in the fact that 

God is our source of protection.

Verse 6 describes sicknesses and plagues that we need not fear.  I don’t have to fear cancer, chemotherapy or any other sickness because my trust is in Yahweh.

Verse 7 elaborates on that by saying even though thousands around us succumb to the sickness and plagues, we will not.

Verse 8 explains that these sicknesses (plagues and pestilence) are actually judgments sent by God to the wicked. The Psalm does not say that the righteous will never get sick.  It does say however, that we will avoid the judgments that God sends to the wicked.

Verses 9-13

9 If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”

    and you make the Most High your dwelling,

10 no harm will overtake you,

    no disaster will come near your tent.

11 For he will command his angels concerning you

    to guard you in all your ways;

12 they will lift you up in their hands,

    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra;

    you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

Starting in verse 9, the Psalmist declares that those who make God their refuge and remain faithful to Him, do not need to be afraid of disasters. The Psalm says we have angels available to protect us. It does not say that each of us is assigned a guardian angel. It just says that at times, God sends angels to protect us.

These verses indicate that God has made provisions for the protection of His people. Many times we do not even see it. I remember one time driving too fast on the snow covered Pennsylvania Turnpike. I was in the passing lane and lost control of the car I was driving. The road was curving to the left, but my car did not respond to my turning of the steering wheel. As I approached the guard rail, suddenly my front wheels caught and I had control of the car again. My first thought was of angels. I don’t know how I was spared from a bad accident, but I gave God the glory.

The lion and the snake mentioned in verse 13 refer to confrontations that are big and bold like a lion or subtle and hard to anticipate like a snake. God protects us from dangers both seen and unseen.

Verses14-16

“14 Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;

    I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

15 He will call on me, and I will answer him;

    I will be with him in trouble,

    I will deliver him and honor him.

16 With long life I will satisfy him

    and show him my salvation.”

In the final verses of this Psalm, Yahweh becomes the speaker. I love that.  Yahweh says that He will rescue and protect us because we love Him and acknowledge His name.

Throughout the Old Testament Yahweh frequently talks about His name. What this means is that He has a reputation. Just like today we think of certain brands of products that have a reputation. God is saying that to acknowledge his name is to know of His faithfulness and His nature – to know who He is.

In verse 15 God, Himself says he will be with us in trouble. It’s comforting to know that He has not deserted us in our troubles or that somehow he is unaware of our situation.

The last verse is a general promise that the righteous can expect God’s provision for a blessed life.

To summarize what this Psalm is telling us:

1.            God is with us in times of troubles and will deliver us.

2.            The wicked will be afflicted and punished but the righteous will not have to go through that.

3.            God’s presence is a place of safety and security to those who remain in Him

4.            We need not be afraid of troubles because God has promised to protect us.

That’s a review of what the Psalm 91 means. I guess there are two reactions to this Psalm. Some, like Joan and me take great comfort in this Psalm. But some people I guess feel there is a disconnect between what they have experienced and what the Psalm says. Some may feel that God has not provided shelter from life’s troubles. Some may feel that God has allowed terrible things to happen to them just like have happened to unbelievers.

Since God and I are battling Stage 4 cancer, I feel I am uniquely qualified to address those who think there is something wrong with this Psalm.

Nowhere in this Psalm does it say that we will not experience trouble. Nowhere does it say that the children of God are not going to suffer. It does promise that God is there for us during these difficult times. Joan and I have experienced this time and time again over the past 9 months. God has walked with us. He has provided for us, sometimes even before we knew we needed something. We have experienced His shelter, His refuge and His rest. We understand what it is like to not be fearful when, sometimes, I can get all worked up over my situation.

There have been many times when we were unhappy with something the doctor said. For example, he said I would have to have chemotherapy every other week for the rest of my life. We were very disappointed when we heard that. Where did we find refuge from the discouragement and fear? In God and His word. The more we focused on Him and His faithfulness to that point in our journey, the less fear and discouragement we felt. In a very short time, Yahweh again became the center of our attention -- not cancer or chemo or life expectancy or any other disappointment.  The more we focus on God and His name, the bigger He becomes in our sight and the smaller our problems become.

By way of illustration, let me tell you about an experience I had just a few weeks ago. We picked up our granddaughter Madeleine in the motorhome and drove to Santa Claus, Indiana. We camped at Lake Rudolph and spent several days at Holiday World.

When we arrived at our RV site, the hook up to the electricity pedestal was a bit different than other campgrounds. Most campgrounds have a pedestal to plug the RV’s electrical cord into that is about 4 feet high. This campground’s pedestal was only about 2 feet high. When I hooked up my surge protector to the pedestal, and then the RV’s electrical cord to the surge protector, the connection was lying on the ground. I didn’t give it much thought until we had been there several nights and it rained.

It rained really hard. It woke me up. After a while I begin to think about this electrical connection lying on the ground. Was it in a hole that might fill with water? Was it even safe to be on the ground as opposed to hanging vertically?

I began to pray. I prayed for safety of my family, for the safety of the motorhome and its electrical system. It kept raining and raining hard. I worried even more about the electrical connection. Then, I began to pray that the rain would stop. I prayed and I prayed that God would cause the storm to blow over. I become more and more upset about the electrical connection and the possible problems that could happen. It kept raining and raining hard. I desperately wanted the storm to stop. It didn’t. 

Eventually I grew tired and fell back to sleep.

When I woke the next morning the storm had passed and everything in the motorhome was fine. When I went out to check on the electric cord, I felt God speaking to me about my frantic prayers the night before.

He said, it did not matter how long the storm lasted or how much rain fell. What mattered is that you made it through the storm. There was no harm to any of you and no harm to the motorhome. We were protected through the storm while I was praying for deliverance from the storm. Again, I understood a valuable lesson. We want deliverance from the storm, God, many times wants to deliver us through the storm.

Storms, the difficult seasons of life push us out of our comfort zones, press us to the edge of ourselves and often begin to produce fear in us because we are forced to recognize we do not possess the resources to meet our needs!  So we pray for deliverance- God, PLEASE get me out of here.  But what if the only way to mature in our faith/confidence in God requires that we go through storms?  It is much like developing a physical muscle requires putting it under a heavy load/strain.  Remember the expression, “No pain, no gain”. It’s true in our walk with Christ as well. What if we recognized that we are as safe in the storm as we are in sunshine when we stand close to the one who is LORD over both types of weather?

It is impossible for any of us to anticipate the many reasons why God may have us go through storms, but here is what I have learned while living in the midst of my personal cancer storm.

Joan and I are much closer to God than we have ever been and we have learned much about running to God as our refuge.

Sooner or later we all go through difficulties in life. We can take refuge in God and be secure or we can run from God blaming Him for