psalms 91- How God used this verse to eliminate my fear of being in the middle of the ocean
This was the first cruise I had even been on. The fear of being in the middle of the ocean almost kept me from even going. Being the person to usually adapt and overcome many fears. This one stuck around. Pulling up to port and seeing the enormous cruise ship did not help. It was a weird feeling once boarding because while being excited the threat of not seeing land soon consumed me.
The dream
It was 4 a.m. when I was woken up by a terrifying dream. It was one of those dreams that felt like you were awake but were not. I was in my suite with my grandma and she was sitting down in the chair beside my bed watching TV. I dozed off and then what felt like waking up to see her pacing the room. Only this time it felt like she was a tall man dressed in dress pants and shoes. For some reason in my dream I closed my eyes thinking “Oh, it is only Grandma.”. To my surprise, as soon as I closed my eyes I felt hands gripping my throat. I tried to scream for grandma or my aunt in the other room but nothing was coming out.
Fear can be paralyzing. Without knowing it fear had crept into my mind and tried to make me believe our God wouldn’t protect me. The man who was attacking me was an example of how satan will try to silence our prayers and our voices.
But, God is greater than he who is in the world.
He knows what your heart already needs before you pray it.
The Holy Spirit will intercede for us when we do not have the words to pray.
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.
Romans 8:26 NIV
You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.
-1 John 4:4 NIV
Forcing myself awake into immediate prayer. Then, grabbing my phone I looked for my bible app to seek a verse that would resonate in this moment. Except instead of my bible app my Instagram was on my mind instead. I saw that my friend Sundra had posted and it was like 5 a.m. so I was intrigued to look at her story. She posted the scripture Psalm 91. It related to me so that’s what I opened in my bible app.
Of course, I DM’d her right away…
The moment I received the confirmation from God that no matter what happens he is with me and he is my shield, I was able to fully immerse myself into enjoying the vacation. Im thankful he used this little love flutter to allow me to experience his message. He is the firm foundation and without him life would be void.
I even booked a snorkeling excursion… talk about faith!
I broke down the scripture:
Psalms 91:1
shelter (a position or the state of being covered and protected)
I like this description of rest: to remain confident: TRUST but there are many great ones like this -> to be free from anxiety or disturbance.
shadow(shelter from danger or observation)
Psalms 91:2
refuge(shelter or protection from danger or distress)
fortress: a fortified place: STRONGHOLD
Psalms 91:1
overtake(to come upon suddenly)
"Peace is knowing that God protects our spirit. No matter what happens to us physically, we can have confidence in eternity."
1 John 4:4 tells us greater is He in me than he that is in the world. Satan will put lies in our head. If I choose to keep believing the lie I wasn’t safe then I would have missed out on an opportunity to experience the most out of my vacation. God is so good and reminded me of his goodness. Without the belief that he wasn’t protecting me I wouldn’t have seen a cute stingray in the reef or went by myself around the ship to explore.
I have carried Psalms 91 with me everywhere I go since that day. I even bought a ring that has the verse on it. Whenever a reminder is needed I look down at the ring.
this will be coming on my next cruise forsure.
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Scales lifestyle
Scales Lifestyle blog was intentionally created by Devon Scales in January of 2023. Her passion to integrate all of her interests and uniqueness into one creative outlet was the fuel. Devon hopes to encourage people to be confident in who they are and not be ashamed of their differences.
