When Heaven Has Your Back: Psalm 91

Psalm 91 offers a powerful spiritual refuge that has comforted believers for centuries with its vivid imagery of God's protective care. God positions Himself between us and harm's way. This isn't about avoiding difficulties altogether—it's about finding unshakable security within them.

"Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty." These aren't empty words but conditional promises extended to those who actively seek God's presence. Psalm 91 empowers us to activate a spiritual armor that surrounds us when we need it most.

As life's inevitable challenges come, consider memorizing Psalm 91. Learn it for yourself and recite it over your loved ones. Tuck these promises into your heart so when catastrophes hit—and they will—you can lean into them for strength. 

Ready to experience more scripture-based encouragement? Subscribe to this podcast for inspiration that will help your feet stay more steeped in the Word than in the world. Share this episode with someone who could use divine shelter today.

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome to Life Out Loud
• 1:46 Introduction to Psalm 91
• 4:38 Mama Bird: Divine Protection Imagery
• 8:02 God's Promises in Psalm 91
• 11:25 Prayer and Psalm 91 Recitation
• 16:20 Closing and Call to Action

Transcript

Desireé Melfi Bozzo: 0:06

Ciao and welcome to Life Out Loud. I am your host, desiree Melfi-Bozzo. We are going to use this space to share experiences and help you find lasting, unshakable, unwavering, unmessable with joy and gratitude. We're going to be throwing around encouragement a little bit like confetti, and giving you support to live your very best life.

Desireé Melfi Bozzo: 0:30

Ciao, friends, welcome to episode four of season four of the Life Out Loud podcast. I am the creator of this podcast and your host, desiree Melfi Boatso. Wherever this finds you listening from, if you would be so kind as to pop it in the comments and let me know where you're at, what you think about the show. I absolutely love hearing from you and how these episodes are impacting your lives. I can definitely scour the analytics and I do but hearing from you makes it a little more personal. So if you've hung around here, you know, this season we're spending time in scripture and really focusing on the prayers that have shaped the world, and so the goal of this season is to have our feet more steeped in the word than in the world and to radiate light to a lost world. That's heavy, and you know what. I'm totally here for it. Last episode, we talked about the armor of God found in Ephesians 6. I broke down what it is. I broke down why it's important. If you missed it, go back and tune in. It's a really beautiful complement to this episode. Today, we're going to dive in to Psalm 91. We're going to dive in heart first, so get ready. This is another heavy one, but it is as proactive as it is beautiful and it offers some really practical faith that can sometimes get lost in the world, right? Sometimes that practical faith, it gets lost among the busyness and the noise, and so I want to bring us back to that space.

Desireé Melfi Bozzo: 2:23

I want to start by talking a little bit about the book of Psalms. So Psalms is in the Old Testament and it's tucked between the book of Job and the book of Proverbs, and Psalms is essentially a collection of like songs or prayers. It's from the 15th to about the 6th century Words are hard today the 15th to about the 6th century, before Jesus came on the scene. So the purpose of Psalms is to show us how to relate to God in any and every life circumstance. A lot of times people say there's no guidebook for life, and I'm like have you read Psalms? Have you read through Proverbs? Because I'm pretty sure it's kind of there. Psalms really shows us who God is, and there isn't an author mentioned for Psalm 91 specifically, but many scholars have attributed it to Moses.

Desireé Melfi Bozzo: 3:22

So Psalm 91, it captures really stunning imagery about protection and divine shelter. It's about God's care for us, no matter our life circumstances, knowing the Psalm, praying the Psalm, reciting it over our lives and our families and our children and our jobs and our friendships and our circumstances allows us to be safe and secure, no matter the battles that rage around us. And friends, the battles, they rage right. Sometimes we can see them and sometimes we can't. If you want to dive a little deeper in the battles and you didn't listen to the previous episode, and if you want to dive a little deeper in the battles and you didn't listen to the previous episode, go back and check it out.

Desireé Melfi Bozzo: 4:09

On Ephesians 6 and the armor of God, if you never heard or read Psalm 91, I'm going to read it to you. 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 snare and from the deadly pestilence. So I'm going to pause here and offer a side note. The fowler snare are dangers that threaten or ensnare our souls. They're often hidden. They're often hidden. They're often subtle. They are definitely always crafty schemes from the anime. Okay, I'm going to pick back up in verse four. He will cover you with his feathers and under his wings you will find refuge.

Desireé Melfi Bozzo: 4:59

I'm going to pause again. I want you to think about the imagery that's used here. So the imagery is of a mama bird protecting her nest that's what comes to mind for me Covering her babies with her feathers and letting them find refuge under her wing. I'm going to share a little story about this. Every spring in our house, the same mama bird comes back to lay eggs at the top of the pillar by our front door. It's the coziest little spot, it's far from the dangers of the forest and it's hidden from the elements.

Desireé Melfi Bozzo: 5:37

This past summer we had a really wicked storm. The tornado sirens went off in the middle of the night and I can tell you it was scary, to say the least. As we cozied ourselves safely in the basement under pillows and a down comforter, I thought about that mama bird and her babies, and my husband was like what? I'm like? I know she's out there, what do we do? And he's like we do nothing, we sit here and be safe. But I couldn't leave it alone. So I turned on the camera outside to see if I could see her, and I could. And I zoomed in and the rain was coming in sideways. The sirens were still blaring and as I zoomed in, I saw what it meant to be covered with his feathers and finding refuge under his wings.

Desireé Melfi Bozzo: 6:27

My friends, that mama bird was so bravely perched in her nest. Her wings were out and she was shielding her babies. Her body was taking the pounding of the rain that somehow went in sideways and up and was pelting her. She covered them until the sky fell quiet and the winds ceased. My friends, that is the most vivid picture I have ever seen of our God. He covers us with his feathers and under his wings. In this world is where we find our refuge.

Desireé Melfi Bozzo: 7:04

Verse 4 concludes with his faithfulness will be our shield and our rampart. The shield that I'm thinking of is like the shield in the last episode about the armor of God that provides immediate protection. If you don't know what a rampart was, it was a fortified wall that offered a broad and defensive barrier. This verse is telling you about God's unwavering commitment to protecting his people. The faithfulness of God will be a protective, defensive barrier. It reminds me of Isaiah 54, 17,.

Desireé Melfi Bozzo: 7:40

No weapon form shall prosper. So I'm going to pick back up Psalm 91, verse 5. Right, 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 Friends. This is referring to the spiritual war being waged all around us. We can't always see it, but, oh man, do we feel the effects. No weapon formed will prosper because of God's care for you and for me. When we walk in obedience and we armor up, he will protect us. Doesn't mean bad things aren't going to happen. Don't twist my words. Be careful with that. I did not say bad things are not going to happen. I didn't say the horrible and the horrific aren't going to happen, but when they do. He is how we get through.

Desireé Melfi Bozzo: 8:51

Verse nine picks up. 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 of your ways. They will lift you up in your 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. These verses give nod to protection and to empowerment. Those who trust in the Lord will be empowered to overcome challenges and remain unharmed.

Desireé Melfi Bozzo: 9:23

We have to pay attention to verse 9. Here we have to declare that the Lord is our refuge. The Hebrew for refuge is mekse and it means to seek shelter, to take refuge or to trust in for protection. He is where we find our shelter in the storm, not in anyone or anything else. God and God alone. When we declare that and we make the most higher dwelling meaning we live in the presence of God and we find our identity and our security in him, then verse 10 to 13 come to life in a powerful and tangible way for us.

Desireé Melfi Bozzo: 10:05

I want to pick back up in verse 14. Because he loves me, says the Lord, I will rescue him. These are his promises. 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.

Desireé Melfi Bozzo: 10:28

Psalm 91 ends with promises to us. Because we love God. They're not for everyone, they're conditional and they are in direct correlation to our love for God. If we love God, though, we can lean into these promises and know he delivers on them wholeheartedly. I want to say this again, kind of what I said earlier Psalm 91 does not mean bad and hard things aren't going to happen. It doesn't mean we won't find ourselves in crappy circumstances. It doesn't mean horrible things aren't going to happen.

Desireé Melfi Bozzo: 11:08

Psalm 91 is not a Pollyanna psalm that makes all things okay. It's a psalm that you recite in offense. It's your sword of the spirit. It's your God-breathed word from heaven that offers protection from a God who would leave the 99 and go fight for the one because he loves you that much. My dear listeners, I beseech you learn Psalm 91. Learn it for you, learn it for your spouse, learn it for your children, learn it for your grandchildren, learn it for your life. Recite it over and over and over, say it with conviction, tuck it into your heart so when the catastrophes of life hit, and they will keep it there, so you can lean into it because that is what's going to hold you up. You can lean into it because that is what's going to hold you up. Psalm 91 is a powerful psalm that offers protection when things are great and also in the seasons when things are terrible, and you probably definitely need it the most that I look back over my own life and the lives of others, where Psalm 91 offered a protection that was literally beyond human comprehension or explanation, protections that are completely and utterly unexplainable. Except God, my love's, his shelter is promised and proven time and time again. Psalm 91 is a reassurance that he will protect us.

Desireé Melfi Bozzo: 12:59

As we close out this episode, I want to pray over you, no-transcript. May the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord look with favor on you and may he give you peace. Father, god, cover these sweet listeners under your wings, like that mama bird covered those babies. Be their refuge when the storms of life come, because we know they will. God. God help them. Dwell in your presence every moment. Let them feel the safety and security of your never failing never ending love.

Desireé Melfi Bozzo: 13:50

Amen, friends, I really hope you enjoyed this episode. It was heavy, I know it was a little bit much right, but this kind of protection is so needed in this world. As we sign off, I want to read Psalm 91 in its entirety. So you have it, so you can tuck it into your heart. So here it goes, psalm 91, starting at the top whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

Desireé Melfi Bozzo: 14:21

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 foul or 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 your 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.

Desireé Melfi Bozzo: 15:00

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 of 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.

Desireé Melfi Bozzo: 15:23

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, amen. Tuck it into your heart, friends, and use it all the time. I hope you enjoyed this episode. When you come back, we're going to throw more encouragement and more scripture around like confetti. Careful, when you get too close, you're definitely going to get some on you and my dear sweet listeners, remember sweet listeners, remember there is always something to be grateful for.

Desireé Melfi Bozzo: 16:20

Ciao. Thank you for joining me, desiree Melfi Bozzo, for this episode of Life Out Loud. I would love to hear from you. Leave me a comment, tell me what topics you want to talk about and how you take your coffee. If you enjoyed what you heard, text a friend the link, share it on social media. Or if you're interested in becoming a supporter, beep up over to my webpage, lifeoutloudme, and sponsor a cup of coffee that keeps this podcast fueled. Until next time, sweet listeners.