What is the dividing line between presumption and faith. Some take God’s promise to protect us, and enter the lion’s den. Others know the Lord could protect, but will He choose to? They are unwilling to take the risk.
God’s promise starts with our being with Him: Psalm 91:1
‘He who dwells in the shelter of the most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty …’
His protection is amazing. He protects us from traps set in our path v3; from unseen and pervasive dangers v6; even from our foolishness v13.
The promise comes with two conditions:
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.
The first is for me to declare: ‘The Lord is my refuge’. We make a public commitment from which there is no going back. We are committed to one another.
The second part is that we make the most High our dwelling – along the lines of John 15 where we remain or abide in Christ. Here, Jesus is our emotional and spiritual source, and His life flows from us through obedience to Him. It is in this remaining that we are both kept from presumption, and encouraged to step out.
This protection is active. The Lord is active in covering us with his feathers. (v4). We are active in not fearing, (v5) for those who fear are driven from under the Lord’s wings.
More detail for this study –
- http://biblebase2adaringfaith.wordpress.com/2013/08/14/active-protection/