June 5, 2018
“No Plague Shall Come Nigh Thy Dwelling”
Psalm 91:10
We live in a world where danger lurks around every corner generating fear and anxiety about what might happen. Neighborhoods that were once safe for children to play outside become a target for stray bullets and for drugs. Unheard of sickness and disease cause an epidemic and even recalls on food that make people sick and put them in the hospital such as e.coli on lettuce of all things. Explosions cause toxic fumes to spread through neighborhoods. Scripture says, “No plague shall come nigh thy dwelling.” We say, “well, time and chance happen to us all” but our God is able to put a shield of protection around us in spite of the worst of circumstance. We must ask for His protection and then believe that He is mindful of our request. Scripture says, “He does not slumber nor sleep” (Psalm 121:3). He is mindful of our frailties and weaknesses. It is important that we know these scriptures and firmly stand on them.
A woman was warned of danger coming to her area and to immediately leave her home and go to a shelter. She didn’t want to go but she grabbed her pocketbook and was going to leave when suddenly the roof blew off of her house and a wall collapsed. Her house was demolished by the wind. Standing in the rubble she said, “I didn’t want to go down to that old stinky shelter anyway.” All was gone, but she was safe and her life was spared. Protection is spoken of this way in the Psalms, “he will cover you with his feathers under his wing” (Psalm 91:4). Or in another place, “A thousand shall fall at your side and 10,000 at your right hand, but it shall not come nigh thee” (Psalm 91:7-16). What makes you think you are so special, you ask? If we believe that God is big enough to meet our needs, we can write our name on these promises and claim them for our very own. I know we read about all kinds of disasters, but many people do not call upon the Lord for protection for themselves or their families. Praying for your children before they go to school is a necessity. Praying over your food is a must when you don’t know what might be contaminated. Psalm 91:5 speaks of protection both day and night. “You will not far 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 mid-day” (Psalm 91:5,6). One would not think that things would happen in broad daylight but today they do. Policemen are gunned down by criminals at a moment’s notice. Our fight is not against flesh nd blood so much of the time, but against principalities and powers that we can’t deal with in our own strength. Why do you suppose that in spite of our weakness and frailties that God protects us from unseen danger and harm? Psalm 91:14 says, “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; and 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.” Luke 21:18 says, “Not a hair of your head shall perish.”
Other scriptures enable you to believe that your footsteps will be secure.”
Psalm 37:24 says, “Though he stumble, he will not fall.” When I was in physical therapy and could barely walk, my therapist said, “I might let you stumble, but I won’t let you fall.” I didn’t want to stumble or fall. I wanted to walk without fear. When we start out our day asking the Lord to guide us around unseen dangers and pitfalls, we are less likely to be ensnared y the plagues the devil brings our way. Don’t open up the doors to let the devil lead us to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Do not give the devil a foothold. (Ephesians 4:26, 27).
Dwight L. Moody and some of the evangelists of the past were not afraid of catching diseases. They could go into hospitals and the germs would die. The plague did not come near them. They shook it off and went on their way. They did not get stressed as we do over every little thing. They could take a promise and speak it boldly—“No plague shall come near [my] dwelling” and it would be so. What they were doing is what we should be doing today—not let the devil cause us to cower down to fears of violence and terror. We have been given authority and power to combat the works of the enemy. When you go to work in the morning, pray the protection around your property. Psalm 91:11 says, “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 upon the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent” (Psalm 91:11-13).
We have the resources to meet today’s problems through Jesus who gives us authority to speak in His Name. In his Name we have not only authority but power to carry out his work in the midst of today’s dangerous world. “No plague shall come nigh thy dwelling.” Speak these scriptures out loud with confidence and assurance that He hears you. Do not doubt the effectiveness of His word. Jesus was one to always use the word against the devil by saying, “It is written.” We can speak the word too and do it boldly.
