Dwelling in the Shelter of the Most High (The Love of God) Psalm 91

Whoever 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 my fortress,

    my God, in whom I 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 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 say, “The Lord is my refuge,”

    and you make the Most High your dwelling, 

no harm will overtake 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 up in their hands,

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

You will tread on 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 on me, and I will answer him;

    I will be with him in trouble,

    I will deliver him and honor him.

With long life I will satisfy him

    and show him my salvation.”

This week I prayed on Psalm 91.  I was afraid for someone who I believed had been caught in the fowler’s snare.  Many theologians interpret this passage as Satan capturing souls through deception so we will sin.  But I believe the insidious purpose of the snare is to instill fear or to preoccupy us so that our minds and souls are caged and cannot experience the “joy of flight” and happiness as we are meant to, resulting in our inability to fulfill God’s purpose for us.   But by dwelling in the Lord, who is love, we are protected and can observe behavior and act independently without fear.  By doing so, our soul soars in flight towards heaven no longer caged escaping the snare of the fowler.