Lent Devotional February 24, 2026

Scripture

Psalm 91

1 You who live in the shelter of the Most High,    who abide in the shadow of the Almighty,2 will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress;    my God, in whom I trust.”3 For he will deliver you from the snare of the hunter    and from the deadly pestilence;4 he will cover you with his pinions,    and under his wings you will find refuge;    his faithfulness is a shield and defense.5 You will not fear the terror of the night    or the arrow that flies by day6 or the pestilence that stalks in darkness    or the destruction that wastes at noonday.

7 A thousand may fall at your side,    ten thousand at your right hand,    but it will not come near you.8 You will only look with your eyes    and see the punishment of the wicked.

9 Because you have made the Lord your refuge,    the Most High your dwelling place,10 no evil shall befall you,    no scourge come near your tent.

11 For he will command his angels concerning you    to guard you in all your ways.12 On their hands they will bear you up,    so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.13 You will tread on the lion and the adder;    the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot.

14 Those who love me, I will deliver;    I will protect those who know my name.15 When they call to me, I will answer them;    I will be with them in trouble;    I will rescue them and honor them.16 With long life I will satisfy them    and show them my salvation.

Devotion

Addison Schmitt Morgan ’24

“He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble.”

“Where is God in this? I pray all the time, I took him to church every Sunday. I usually feel God near but I don’t right now.” These were the words of a grandmother who had just lost her young grandchild suddenly. Right after she said this she began to pray, reciting verses from Psalm 91. I was sitting in one of those awful hospital family meeting rooms in our pediatric emergency department where good news is hardly ever relayed and where I find myself more often than I’d like. As one of many chaplains in a level 1 trauma center, my colleagues and I often find ourselves sitting with someone on the worst day of their life. We accompany people along uncertain journeys that often yield questions whose answers also have little certainty. We sit with people when God feels far away.

We are in the wilderness—there is uncertainty. We may have questions whose answers feel like they too have little certainty. God may feel distant. Psalm 91 is often used in my place of work with our Judeo-Christian population, and while this psalm may not be finding you on the worst day of your life (at least, I pray it isn’t), it can serve as a reminder on any day of God’s most steadfast promises. No wonder people turn to it on terrible days. “He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble.” For this grandmother, this psalm became an anchor in an unimaginable moment. In the times when God feels most distant, psalms like Psalm 91 can ground us back in the realities that God can always be called upon and that God is always near. May it always be so.

Prayer

Holy God,We fear the terror of the night and the arrow that flies by day.Remind us that we can always call on you.Help us to trust that you will always answer.Amen.