What God Has Promised
Psalm 91
You will not fear the terror of the night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.
A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you. —Psalms 91:5-8
So much depends on what “it" means.
Old Nick would have us believe that God’s promises have failed when difficulties come our way, but God never promised deliverance from trouble. "Tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, and the sword" may be our lot (Romans 8:25).
God has promised, however, that He'll be with us in our troubles and will protect our souls from destruction. The real me—the indestructible, immortal, remembering, feeling, thinking part of me that I call "myself"—cannot be harmed!
Jesus expressed that thought with a wry paradox. "Some of you will be put to death... But not a hair of your head will perish" (Luke 21:16-18).
God has not promised that you and I will live untroubled lives. He has, however, promised that He will hear us when we call; He will be with us in our troubles; He will rescue us from evil-doing and “beautify” our souls through our struggles; and in the end He will satisfy our deepest longings with everlasting Love (91:15,16). Therefore, we “will not fear” and we will not fall. We will never know defeat; “it will not come near” us. No, in all our troubles we are more than conquerors through Him who loves us (Romans 8:37).
God has not promised skies always blue,
Flower-strewn pathways all our lives through;
God has not promised sun without rain,
Joy without sorrow, peace without pain.
God hath not promised we shall not know
Toil and temptation, trouble and woe;
He hath not told us we shall not bear
Many a burden, many a care.
God hath not promised smooth roads and wide,
Swift, easy travel, needing no guide;
Never a mountain, rocky and steep,
Never a river, turbid and deep.
But God has promised strength for the day,
Rest for the labor, light for the way,
Grace for the trials, help from above,
Unfailing sympathy, undying love.
—Annie Johnson Flint
David Roper
