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FEAR GRIPPED MY HEART and beads of perspiration popped out on my forehead as I feverishly ran my fingers over what felt like a lump in my body. How I dreaded that monthly self-examination the doctor had suggested. My fingertips were as cold as ice from the panic I had worked up just thinking about what I might find, and the turn my life would take from there. On that particular day it turned out to be a false alarm, but the dread of what I might find in the coming months was constantly in the back of my mind until this promise came alive in my heart. If you fight fears of fatal diseases, then this is the Scripture for you to take hold of. You will not be afraid of the pestilence that stalks in darkness. –Psalm 91:6 The third category of evil that God names in Psalm 91 is pestilence. This is the only evil He names twice! Since God doesn’t waste words, He must have a specific reason for repeating this promise. Have you noticed when a person says something more than once, it is usually because he wants to emphasize a point? God knew the pestilence and the fear that would be running rampant in these end days. The world is teeming with fatal epidemics that are hitting people by the thousands, so God catches our attention by repeating this promise. It’s as though God is saying, “I said it in verse three, but did you really hear Me? Just to be sure, I am saying it again in verse six--you do not have to be afraid of the deadly pestilence!”This is so contrary to the world in which we live that we have to renew our thinking before we can comprehend the fact we do not have to be afraid of the sicknesses and diseases that are epidemic in the world today. When I first started studying this psalm, I remember thinking, “I don’t know whether I have the faith to believe these promises!” This thought stretched my faith and my mind until I thought it would snap like a rubber band that was being pulled too tightly. God, however, reminded me that faith is not a feeling. Faith is simply choosing to believe what He says in His Word. The more I chose to believe God’s Word, the more I had a knowing I could trust and rely on it completely. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My Words will not pass away. –Mark 13:31 Our inheritance is not limited to what is handed down to us genetically from our ancestors. Our inheritance can be what Jesus provided for us if we believe the Word and put it to work. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law having become a curse for us... –Galatians 3:13 The pestilence mentioned here in Psalm 91 is spelled out in detail in Deuteronomy 28.This scripture in Galatians tells us we are redeemed from every curse (including pestilence), if we will simply believe and appropriate the promise. In Bible days when they mentioned pestilence, they were thinking of diseases like leprosy. Luke 21:11 states that part of the signs of the end times is an outbreak of pestilence. And, today we have many widespread diseases such as AIDS, cancer, heart disease, coronavirus... But, no matter what pestilence we might be facing, His promise never ceases to be true. The enemy may try to cause sudden surprises to catch us unaware and knock us down, but God is faithful. His Word is true no matter what the circumstances look like. I shudder to think what we might open ourselves up to without the promise of Psalm 91 and without the determination to stand firm and refuse to entertain fearful thoughts. I wish I had kept a diary through the years of the healing miracles that I have seen personally. I remember the night our son was born and we were told he had a lung disease and could not be taken out of the incubator, even to be fed. After we got over the initial shock, God seemed to just drop faith in our hearts and there was never another question in our minds whether or not he would be normal. Two perfectly healthy lungs demonstrated God’s healing power. I remember when Mary Ann, a friend of mine with three incurable diseases, was practically carried into one of my Bible study meetings and laid on the couch. Her little eighty-seven pound body looked beyond hope, but the group prayers that morning incited a miracle and thirty years later she still lives. She often shows the picture on her old driver’s license to illustrate the shocking difference in her appearance. I remember the night that a member of the staff at the Texas Youth Commission approached my husband and daughter. He had been listening to their Bible studies each Monday night and wanted prayer. Two tests showed his unborn child to have Down’s syndrome, but he and his wife had chosen against the recommendation to have the baby aborted and just wanted Jack and Angie to pray for them as parents. Instead, they asked if they could pray that God would bring forth a miracle. Several months later his wife gave birth to a completely whole and healthy baby. Time and space prevents my sharing all the wonderful miracles I have witnessed through the years—some instantaneous, some through a miracle process, but all brought about by the hand of God. What we allow our mind to dwell on is our choice. Therefore, if we desire to operate in this protection covenant, taking authority over negative thoughts and emotions is imperative. It is amazing how the simple phrase, “I am just not going there,” will dispel those fears immediately. I’m sure this promise of protection from plagues and pestilence reminds you of Israel’s complete immunity from the Egyptian plagues in the land of Goshen. The destroyer could not come in where the blood was applied. The Bible claims that over one million people in the wilderness did not get sick. Even before the completed work on the cross, the Old Testament covenant declared, “You will not be afraid of the pestilence that stalks in darkness--it will not approach you.” -Peggy Joyce Ruth Start Praying Psalm Today Get the Book!
2 Comments
Connie
3/23/2020 11:06:52 am
I don’t understand psa 91. Who is he protecting? Christians get it the virus. How can u believe he protects. Some die. Some don’t. Feel like I pray it and hope my family are the lucky ones.
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Peggy Joyce Ruth Ministies
3/23/2020 02:26:50 pm
Connie, thank you for your questions. I know the world feels crazy right now but that is exactly why God put Psalm 91 in the Bible, for times like these. The enemy tries to makes death and disease seem random and uncontrollable. His goal is to keep us from believing that God's promise are true and that they work. That is why we believe it is so important to declare Psalm 91 out loud everyday over yourself and family until you feel the fear and shaking of this season leave and you feel God's peace and confidence come over you. We have seen God do so many miracles over the years; from healing people from their death beds to supernaturally protecting people in war zones. After praying Psalm 91, believing God, and seeing Him come through time and time again it becomes easier to trust God and enemies lies shake us less and less. Hope this helps.
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