Psalm 91 is a Psalm of victory. Verse 3 says, “Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence.” Then read Hebrews 11:35-38, “Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented — of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth.” But how can this be in light of Psalm 91?
I believe Luke 17 is the key. The Apostles asked Jesus how they can increase their faith. Jesus first defined great faith, then replied by defining a servant’s duties. Luke 17:7-10 says, “And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat’? But will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink’? Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not. So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.’” There is a lot of deep meaning in these few verses, but I believe the central theme is that God the Father is our Master and it is our duty to serve Him, be subject to Him and be servants of obedience. We are not to stop when we are done what is expected of us. We are to be profitable to our Lord by serving Him with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength.
I believe many ministries, especially those on TV, are spreading a dangerous mindset. They preach that all we have to do is remind God of His written Word and God must obey us. After all, it is His Word. But as we go deeper, we will find it is actually hinged on a twisted interpretation of God’s Word. God is faithful to His Word, but we must first and foremost be in humble subjection to Him.
Namaan in 2 Kings 5 is an individual who learned obedience to God’s spoken Word through the prophet Elisha. At first he refused to dip 7 times in the muddy Jordan river as commanded. I wonder how he felt during the first 6 dips and not seeing any results. But, when he came up the seventh time he was completely healed.
Let’s not have a cocky air about us and demand that our infinite God fulfill His Word as we think He should with our finite mind’s view. Rather, let’s approach Him with a humble confidence as Psalm 123:2 says, “Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the LORD our God, until He has mercy on us.”
Now we can go back to the first paragraph and see that our Lord is in both Psalm 91 and Hebrews 11:35-38. Yes He can give the victory, but yes He may also call us to be tortured and martyred for our faith. Those preaching a dangerous gospel do not want to acknowledge Hebrews 11:35-38. They only want to expound upon the Psalm 91’s of the Bible. The question remains, “Who really is your master?”
Annointing 