If you make the LORD your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter, no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your home. For He will order his angels to protect you wherever you go. They will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone. – Psalm 91:9-12 NLT
The Bible is full of promises of God’s protection. The Lord is described as our refuge, shelter, and strong tower—a place where no evil will overcome us. Yet, we also know that this life is not without its fair share of struggles.
“I have told you all this so that you may have peace in Me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” – John 16:33 NLT
How can these two seemingly opposite ideas be reconciled under one faith? Can the God who promises we won’t even hurt our foot on a stone also warn us of persecution and pain without contradicting Himself?
What’s the Author Trying to Say?
The Lord does indeed promise such protection in Psalm 91. But we must understand the intention of the author to fully grasp the depth and weight of this promise. When the author (historically believed to be Moses or King David) penned these words, they were painting a picture of God as a place of safety.
This promise—to make the Lord our refuge and experience freedom from evil, plagues, and pain—should be viewed through two lenses:
1. How it applies to us here and now in a broken creation.
2. How God intends to fully realize this promise in the new heaven and earth.
Hyperbole or Something More?
It may be tempting to think that the promises of passages like Psalm 91 are hyperbole. Maybe you’ve even wondered if it was a blatant lie. But I believe there’s a deeper emphasis these passages seek to make—an imposition to consider our mortality. And, in turn, seek the eternality of life with God.
Here’s what I mean by that: I don’t believe the author of Psalm 91 is lying. I don’t think they’re trying to sway you to put your trust in God’s protection, only to experience pain that leads you to question His goodness. I believe we’re meant to read these types of promises in light of how God intended for creation to be.
God’s Plan for Creation—from Beginning to End
When you look at the Garden of Eden, we see a place that was called good. There was refuge from the chaos outside its walls. There was shelter from a world not yet cultivated to produce fruit. There was a place to call home—where God and mankind dwelt together. As long as people chose to abide with Him and obey His words, no evil would conquer them and no sickness would come near them.
However, sin fractured this ecosystem. No longer was there the safety and security of the Garden. But that doesn’t mean God’s protection wasn’t still with humanity. In fact, right after God confronts Adam and Eve for their disobedience, He gives them a promise. A commitment to eradicate the serpent—the picture of deception that led to questioning God’s commandment—and His sworn word to make things better once more.
The Hope of a New Heaven and Earth
While we would walk through a broken creation—a place where we experience pain—He would never allow us to be crushed. He would always be leading us back to that Garden place. He would send a Savior to make a new home where we could find refuge and shelter. A place where evil could not touch us and plagues could ever enter our home.
Psalm 91 reminds us that God’s protection is with us through every hardship and every struggle while also reminding us to set our eyes on eternity, where every single burden and fear will be wiped from existence. When we enter into God’s new creation, the serpent and His poisonous words will be nowhere to be found. And without the deceiver, mankind will once again obey God without question. In our obedience, we will find all of the goodness of God that He wants to lead us into. And when He does, He will hold us up so not even our foot will be hurt on a stone.
