7 Blessings of Crisis From Psalm 91

“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.’” Ps. 91:1-2

Psalms 91 and 92 are well documented in my Bible. I have been there many times. I have camped there on occasion. The margins are full of notes. There are several spaces within these two, powerful chapters that are heavily highlighted. There's some underlining, some circling, and lots of notes! ​In the margin, beside Psalm 91, I have written “7 Blessings of Crisis.” I’m not sure where this came from, a sermon most likely, but it’s good and I want to share it with you today so that when you're in a crisis, you can see the blessings too!

​7 Blessings of Crisis:

1. Crisis exposes our weaknesses. Yes, it does!
2. Crisis wakes us up and gets our attention.
3. Crisis tightens our grip on things that matter and loosens it on things that don’t.
4. Crisis strengthens our trust in God.
5. Crisis teaches us how to pray more often and more effectively.
6. Crisis rekindles our service to others.
7. Crisis opens the doors to the Gospel.

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High [EL ELYON] will abide in the shadow of the Almighty [EL SHADDAI]. I will say to the Lord [JEHOVAH ADONAI], ‘My refuge and my fortress, my God [ELOHIM], in whom I trust.’” Psalm 91:1-2

I love that in these first two verses of Psalm 91 we see four different names of God. It is unusual to see that many names of God used in just two verses. I am not aware of anywhere else in the Bible where this happens. Because of this, these verses have become very special to me.​

​Two words that stand out to me in those verses are refuge and fortress. The words refuge and fortress invoke in me a sense of the unequaled trust and security I find in God.

​I also love the words dwell and abide. Dwell and abide are the two things we need to do to be able to call God our refuge and fortress.

Where are you dwelling today?
Where are you abiding today?

I hope it’s close to the heart of God and in His Word.

If you would like to spend more time in Psalm 91, I highly recommend the book my friend Susan Shipe has written called “31 Days of Praying Psalm 91.” If you're in crisis mode, praying through Psalm 91 may be just what you need! 

Have you seen any of the blessings of crisis in your own life experiences?