By Sister Donna Bell Sanders 

Years ago, I studied the Psalms intently and personalized them in my own words. Psalm 91 was particularly grounding to me, especially when I went through the grief of losing my father. 

Happy is the person who stays in the shelter of the Most High – who lives under the shadow of the Almighty God – who calls the Eternal “My refuge and my strength, my God in whom I trust!” 

Trust indeed is the key. Because it is by trust that I can surrender my all. If I cannot trust, I cannot be open, vulnerable, giving. 

But You, O Christ, bring ultimate joy, ultimate tenderness and teach me to trust again. I need not hold back. I need not fear. If indeed You wait for all of us to hear Your Voice. . . if indeed You call on everyone to heed You, then You are a God I can trust – a God who would not withhold Your Love no matter the cost.

You save me from the snare of my own sin. You rescue me from the deadly pit of my own despair. You protect me and shield me under Your Wings. 

I don’t need to fear the terror of the night, nor the arrows flying in the day. I don’t need to fear unnamable things stalking me in the dark. I don’t fear even sudden death at noon. Hundreds may fall around me, but standing in the light of Your Love, I can be at peace. 

Even in death I have no fear. I trust You utterly, no doubts. I stand confidently in Your Love – knowing, as I do, the whole story – that beyond the grave, the Resurrection; beyond pain, Joy Everlasting; beyond oppression, Ultimate Freedom; beyond torture, Peace in Your Arms; beyond hunger, Your Plenty; beyond thirst, Your Infilling; beyond loneliness, Your Indwelling. For every need, You have the answer. You indeed are the Answer. I am safe, shielded by Your Faithfulness. 

Those who do evil now will see it, be aware of it to their utter remorse and agony. But even they, when they see it, will shelter like me beside You, O Eternal and we will all make You our home. Ultimately no harm can befall us, no evil overcome us. 

You put me under the angels’ charge. They guard me wherever I go. They lift me in their arms lest I trip over a stone. In Your Strength, I can walk over the slimy things in my life, those reptiles of my own making – anger, resentment, impatience – You put them under my feet. Nothing triumphs over me. I trample them. 

I cling to You, O God. You deliver me. I call for You; You keep me safe. You answer my cry, You are with me in trouble. You deliver me and honor me. You satisfy me with long life. You let me see Your Saving Care, Your Loving Grace. I love to look in Jesus’ Face.