Psalm 91

When I get back to California, I will be driving a car that indicates a belief in the 91st Psalm. As a result, I thought that today I would simply allow you to read this "Warrior's Psalm."

This "reading" comes from the New American Standard Bible, given to me by my mother before I deployed to Iraq... for the first time.

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust!"

For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper and from the deadly pestilence.

He will cover you with His pinions and under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.

You will not be afraid of the terror by night, or of the arrow that flies by day;

Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, or of the destruction that lays waste at noon.

A thousand may fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not approach you.

You will only look on with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked

For you have made the LORD, my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place.

No evil will befall you, nor will any plague come near your tent.

For He will give His angels charge concerning you, to guard you in all your ways.

They will bear you up in their hands, that you do not strike your foot against a stone.

You will tread upon the lion and cobra, the young lion and the serpent you will trample down.

"Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name.

"He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him.

"With a long life I will satisfy him and let him see My salvation."

I believe every word of the Bible in its entirety, but this Psalm has held a special place for me since it was pointed out to me. I can attest that the words in this song are true. During Operation Iraqi Freedom's opening drive to Baghdad, I was within visual range of some pretty fierce fighting, but it never got to the point where I felt I was in any danger. When my convoy made a wrong turn in downtown Baghdad, I was sure we were going to get ambushed, but when we turned the next corner, there were the "angels of God." Of course, that day they looked an awful lot like M1A1 Abrams tanks, but I couldn't tell the difference. When a large portion of the battalion I was with got sick after the fighting was over, I too got ill, but it only lasted one restless night.

And I believe the last line of the Psalm has been upheld as well. I believe that my son, who bears my name, will become a man of God himself and I will live long enough to see my grandchildren come to Him. Arrogant? I don't think so. I just believe that God has put me here for a purpose and that I have not yet fulfilled that purpose. I'm working on it though. I want to be one of the servants who hears, "Well done," at the end of my labor. Am I perfect? No, but that's okay. I'm a new creature and I'm learning again how to grow in Him who made me and gives me breath each day. As it says in 2 Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come."

Have a wonderful week, friends.