A Power to Take Hold of
Let's continue through Psalm 91, where today we read: "He will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent." (Psalm 91:11-13 NIV11)
Isn't it a wonderful thought, that God has commanded His angels to guard you in all your ways? Perhaps you don't believe in guardian angels. I certainly do.
I wonder, looking back at my life, how many times the angels have lifted me up and prevented me from tripping over a rock? Maybe it's happened countless times that I never knew.
Learning Through the Times We Stumble
Of course, there are those times when you do stumble, and fall, and I think sometimes God allows that because it's the only way we learn. Those stumbling rocks are useful teachers, and God doesn't want us just to cruise through life without learning to stand up when we fall.
But the main thought here, I believe, is victory in spiritual matters. When the Psalmist talks about treading the lion and the cobra and trampling the lion and serpent, I believe these are pictures of spiritual enemies who attack us and try to hurt our faith.
Christ's Victory Over a Defeated Enemy
In fact some scholars believe this is a Messianic Psalm - that it primarily is referring to Jesus, and that this verse is a picture of how Jesus was lifted up by the angels in the Garden of Gethsemane, strengthened so that He didn't run away from the cross, and then when He died and rose again He trampled the devil and his demons and gave His people new spiritual power.
Think of that, friends. The enemy is still active yes, but he is a defeated enemy. At the cross, Jesus disarmed all the spiritual powers and authorities, Paul tells us. By rising from the grave, He conquered death and sin for all who would believe. You, with your faith in Christ today, can have power over those spiritual serpents and lions. Yes, they may be prowling or slithering about you, but you can overcome them with your faith in Jesus.
Have you been giving in to the enemy's temptations and tricks, because you've convinced yourself that he is too powerful for you to handle? Go to Jesus today, and declare your faith in His power over the enemy! Speak this verse out with great confidence, and then when the temptations come, trample them with this verse in your heart.
Remember, it was the first part of this passage that Satan used to try and tempt Jesus in the desert! But Jesus trampled him and went on his way.
You can do the same, if Jesus dwells within you and you dwell in Him.
Psalm 91 shows the spiritual power and protection God gives His people over the enemy's attacks. Stand against temptation today by declaring your faith in Christ's finished victory over the enemy.