spiritual battle, Gives His Angels Charge (Ps.91)

In the psalms, David talks a lot about God's protection from his earthly enemies, and does not focus on the supernatural enemies at all, even though we know he had exposure to demonic activities, especially when it came to dealing with king Saul.

This one psalm perhaps alludes to the spiritual realm, but emphases that God protects His children from all evil.  God also puts in place His angels to watch over us...

(Psalm 91:1-16)  He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust!”
3 For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.

5 You will not be afraid of the terror by night, or of the arrow that flies by day;
6 Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, or of the destruction that lays waste at noon.
7 A thousand may fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not approach you.
8 You will only look on with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked.
9 For you have made the Lord, my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place.
10 No evil will befall you, nor will any plague come near your tent.

11 For He will give His angels charge concerning you, to guard you in all your ways.
12 They will bear you up in their hands, that you do not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread upon the lion and cobra, the young lion and the serpent you will trample down.

14 “Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name.
15 “He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him.
16 “With a long life I will satisfy him and let him see My salvation.”

From this we see:
- God places guardian angels to watch over His children, to guard and protect us
- somehow angels can give us physical strength and protection

Personal experience:  looking at verses 3 to 6, I am reminded of my fear of spiders (deadly or not).  Perhaps this fear began when I heard that my middle brother kept seeing spiders crawling all over his bed at night.  My parents would rush to the room and switch on the lights to show him that nothing was really there.

But was there?  I mean, he obviously could have seen "something super-naturally real" (although no actual spiders.  Remember, my youngest brother talked to and prayed to "his friend" in the crack in the wall.

This seems to be a common "side-effect" of demonic activities.  While my husband and I were leading a youth group, there was a girl who had a sister involved in occult practices.  This girl told me that she kept seeing spiders crawling all over her bed at night, but when she'd turn the lights on, there was never anything there.

Now what about actual pestilence?  Funny thing, I have a few odd experiences with this.  You might laugh, and that's okay, because it is kind of amusing!  in a creepy way!

My husband and I were staying in a furnished apartment for a couple of months.  The owners had decorated the place, and on one shelf there was a bust of a Buddha idol and a Hindu idol.  Not caring to see or display these images, my husband put them out of sight, on top of a cabinet in the bedroom.

For several nights, there were two mosquitoes in the bedroom that kept us up at night.  I finally asked God that I would be able to catch and kill them.  I threw on a light, and immediately killed one of them.  But the other one still had "license to torment us".

The very next day I decided that we should take the idol heads out of the bedroom and hide them inside a cabinet in another room.  That night, no more mosquitoes - for the rest of our stay.

Now for an even stranger story.  My husband and I were staying in a hotel room just off the ocean.  In these particular countries, they do not have air conditioning or screens on their windows.  But both of us get very hot at night, and so we had to keep the window open.  And every night, we'd have a few spiders and bugs to kill.

Well, one particular night, we had turned on the lights but forgot to close the curtains.  When it was time to turn in for the night, I looked up at the ceiling.  It was crawling!!!  With everything!!!  Spiders, bugs, mosquitoes... Hundreds of them!  My husband went to town trying to catch and kill.  It was pointless and hopeless.  And it was getting late.  So!  I figured - God is in control of everything, and we can ask God for anything - - - I asked God to just protect me!!!  Just help me sleep and protect me!!!

It only took about 30 itchy minutes before I fell asleep.  When I woke up (after a really sound sleep) - I was afraid to open my eyes at first.  Finally, when I did, I carefully looked around me.  No, I was not webbed into a trap!  There were no bug bites on me anywhere.  Then I slowly looked up to the ceiling... NOTHING???  Wait, NOTHING???  Where were they all??

I did quite a thorough search.  Even checked in and under the bed, and inside drawers... NOTHING!!!  Except for one small long-legged spider in the far corner of the ceiling.  Now, I have no idea if that little spider ate EVERYTHING.  Maybe a guardian angel ushered all insects out the opened window???  ha ha ha, whatever!  However this happened - I was thanking God for the miracle.  I mean, seriously thanking God for the miracle!!!

(FYI:  I allowed "Hans" the spider to stay.  As long as he didn't move from his corner, then I didn't mind him being there. :D )

If the demons are trying to make me afraid and loose sight of God - that strategy is failing miserably.  The more spider-experiences I have (and there have been MANY), the more I am overcoming my arachnophobia.  In fact, just the other night, I almost swallowed a spider.  Yes, you heard me.  I made the mistake of drinking a glass of water without turning on the lights. 

Memory-flashback to when I was a kid and I ALMOST drank a spider which had made a nice little web inside the cup.  ugh!

Anyway, I had simply pulled the spider out of my mouth and threw it into the sink.  I kind of surprised myself at how I was able to just shrug and go back to sleep.  Didn't bother to see if the spider was still alive.  Didn't even have any spider dreams.  AMAZING!!!

Today's takeaway:  you know, whatever evil is there, big or small, God's protection is enough, and His protection is everything - especially the protection from everlasting death through the salvation that He offers to all  people, which each person must choose for themselves.  In the scripture above, it clearly says that God protects HIS children!  The ones who honor and love God - He will protect and honor...

(Psalm 37:)  Mark the blameless man, and behold the upright; for the man of peace will have a posterity. 38 But transgressors will be altogether destroyed; the posterity of the wicked will be cut off. 39 But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; He is their strength in time of trouble. 40 The Lord helps them and delivers them; He delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in Him.

(Psalm 5)  But let all who take refuge in You be glad, let them ever sing for joy; and may You shelter them, that those who love Your name may exult in You. 12 For it is You who blesses the righteous man, O Lord, You surround him with favor as with a shield.

 (Psalm 138:1-8)  I will give You thanks with all my heart; I will sing praises to You before the gods.
2 I will bow down toward Your holy temple and give thanks to Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth; for You have magnified Your word according to all Your name.
3 On the day I called, You answered me; You made me bold with strength in my soul.

4 All the kings of the earth will give thanks to You, O Lord, when they have heard the words of Your mouth.
5 And they will sing of the ways of the Lord, for great is the glory of the Lord.
6 For though the Lord is exalted, yet He regards the lowly, but the haughty He knows from afar.

7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch forth Your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and Your right hand will save me.
8 The Lord will accomplish what concerns me; Your lovingkindness, O Lord, is everlasting; do not forsake the works of Your hands.