Don’t Take the Fear Bait—Much to Lose, But More to Gain {Psalm 91:3-4}

Don’t take the bait to be trapped in fear of COVID-19 on the loose. Take refuge in God’s resources.

This week we’re reading and meditating on Psalm 91:3-4.

An Enemy in the Midst

A mouse was in the house. I just knew it.

There were signs. A half-chewed bag of cereal in the pantry. Mouse droppings in the corner of the kitchen. And then a flash of gray flying across the kitchen floor.

My first reaction? Go higher! Stand on a chair. Call for help.

When something enters our home that doesn’t belong, we sometimes see the signs before we see the enemy.

It’s the same for our spiritual lives.

When the first threat of the coronavirus entered our consciousness—when we realized we or someone we love could actually get sick and die—we had a variety of reactions, too. Some healthy, some unhealthy.

But now that we know an intruder is in our midst, how can we handle it?

We Have a Lot to Lose

We know this invisible enemy can trap our capacity to breathe.

• But just the thought of it can also trap our peace.
• It can cause us to worry about our economic future. And trap our hope.
• It can cause tension in our family. And trap our joy.

It can even cause us to doubt God’s provision. And trap our faith.

But it doesn’t have to. With our agreement, God can spring those traps before we walk into them and get caught.

The enemy attempting to take our bodies can’t steal our souls.

Psalm 91:3 says that God will deliver us.

For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence.
Psalm 91:3

Is God guaranteeing us that we won’t catch COVID-19? No. We know believers who have gotten the disease. Some recover, but some die.

Does that mean God didn’t deliver them?

But We Have More to Gain

No. But we each have to grapple with this in our own way.

God wants us to talk to Him about it. To have the hard conversations. To wrestle with our understanding so we’ll come out stronger.

Whether in life or through death, we can trust that God is our refuge from traps and plagues. He longs to gather His children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings (Matthew 23:37).

He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
Psalm 91:4

• He frees us from the trap of anxiety by giving us a place to shelter in Him (Psalm 91:1).
• He frees us from the trap of material worries by giving us assurance of His provisions (Matthew 6:30-32).
• He frees us from the trap of despondency by renewing our strength for the battle (Isaiah 40:31).
• He frees us from the trap of doubt by giving us His faithfulness in exchange for our faithlessness (2 Timothy 2:13).

We don’t have to rely on our own resources.

We can depend on God’s infinite supplies. We can think His thoughts and trust His ways (Isaiah 55:8-9).

It’s His gift to us (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Don’t Take the Bait

After I climbed down from my chair, I tried to find where the mouse was hiding. He wasn’t cooperating. Instead of sitting quietly in the middle of the room, in plain sight, waiting for me to capture him, the mouse had scurried underneath something, in the dark, unseen.

My husband set a trap that afternoon. A piece of cheese was the lure. Before bedtime that night, we heard a SNAP.

The mouse had taken the bait. And lost his battle.

We, however, don’t have to take the bait of worrying, of panicking, of complaining. We can go higher. Call for help. Avoid the traps.

God knows where our traps have been set, and if we’ll shelter in His nest, we will be safe. He’s got this. Let’s let him fight this one for us.

Count on His faithfulness.
Trust His goodness.
Rest in His love.

Thank you for reading Psalm 91 with us for 8 weeks. Over 225 people are memorizing it together.

How are you managing fear in these weeks of uncertainty? Please share your thoughts in the comments.

READ MORE:

• How to Shelter-in-Place in God With the 9-1-1 of Psalms {Psalm 91:1-2}
• What to Expect When You Memorize Psalm 91
• Sign Up to Memorize Psalm 91 to Fight Fear of COVID-19