Because you have made the LORD your dwelling place- the Most High, who is my refuge- no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent. (Psalm 91:9-10)
Maybe you’ve read this psalm and came away confused. Does knowing God exempt you from harm? Does following Jesus mean you won’t catch a disease? We must read the psalm with the entire storyline of the Bible in mind. God’s people have faced evil and disease from the very beginning from the righteous Abel who was murdered by his brother in Genesis 4 to the Apostle Paul who was in prison and finally executed at the end of his life. Job, the man who feared God and hated evil, experienced a nasty boils on his body.
This psalm is not saying that followers of Jesus will be exempt from suffering. Rather they will experience the presence and power of God in the suffering. No matter what happens their ultimate destiny and destination is with the Lord. No evil can sabotage God’s plan for their lives. What this means is we can live life calling out to God for help. We can know that God is with us through the most difficult circumstances. We can experience Him as our refuge and fortress in times of trouble. And we can rest knowing that He will bring us safely to our eternal home.