SOAP Bible Study on Psalm 91:9-16: Finding Confidence in God Through Every Danger and Challenge

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Psalm 91 has been an anchoring chapter for me lately, and I wanted to unpack a couple of verses from it in this blog. The ESV Bible commentary says of Psalm 91 that it "describes the confidence that the believer may have through all types of dangers and challenges."  And I couldn't have described this Psalm better! Because whenever anxiety starts knocking, the Holy Spirit often nudges me with reminders from this Psalm and often prompts me to read it. And every time I listen to that nudge, I'm always filled with renewed confidence that God is with me, that He is bigger than any opposition I may face, and that I can rest in Him. So if you've been in a season where you're facing challenges and need Biblical reassurance that God's got you, unpack verses 9-16 of Psalm 91 with me.

S.O.A.P Bible Study Explained:

Before diving into the passage, I wanted to quickly explain the SOAP Bible study method so you can follow the structure of the blog easily, and use this method for your own Bible study time if you find it helpful.

SOAP stands for Scripture, Observation, Application, and Prayer.

First, you write out (or highlight) key verses as you're reading your Bible. Then you make observations about what the text is saying in its context (if you need help unpacking the context of verses, check out the ESV Bible I use below). After making your observations, you reflect on how the text you just read applies to your life today. Then, you respond to God through prayer.

Now, let's dive into the Bible study :)

Scripture:

"If you make the LORD your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter, no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your home. For he will order his angels to protect you wherever you go. They will hold you up with their hands so you won't even hurt your foot on a stone. You will trample upon lions and cobras; you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet! The LORD says, 'I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name. When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them. I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation.'" ~ Psalm 91:9-16 NLT

Observation:

I'm a definitions girly, and when some words stand out to me when I read scripture, I like to look up the definition to get a fuller understanding of what the passage is saying. In verses 9-10, the words "refuge" and "conquer" stood out to me, so I looked them up.

• Refuge: shelter or protection from danger or distress; a place that provides shelter or protection.

• Conquer: to overcome by force of arms.

• Overcome: to get the better of, to overwhelm.

So with these definitions in mind, we can re-read verses 9-10 as: "If you make the LORD your shelter or protection from danger or distress, no evil will get the better of you or overwhelm you."

The word "For" that starts verse 11 is a synonym of "because." So we can read these verses together as: "If you make the LORD your shelter from danger and distress, no evil will get the better of you because He will order His angels to protect you wherever you go."

They (being the angels) will hold you up with their hands (so you won't have to hold yourself up) so that you won't even hurt your foot on a stone. They'll watch out for you and prevent you from hurting yourself because they're on assignment from your Heavenly Father to protect you.

Then we get to verse 13, which mentions trampling on lions and cobras. The definition girly in me kicked in here too, as the words "trample" and "fierce" stood out to me, and I had to look them up.

• Trample: to crush, injure, or destroy.

• Fierce: violently hostile or aggressive in temperament.

Now keep in mind, this verse is speaking of "trampling" and "fierce" in regards to lions and cobras. I don't know if you've ever seen lions and cobras in person, but I have from afar, and I would never even try to get in their way. Thankfully, the verse isn't literally saying that we will trample those animals, but they're a metaphor for things in our lives that may appear as scary and impossible to overcome as a fierce (aka violently hostile or aggressive in temperament) lion or cobra. So we can re-read verse 13 as "You will crush or destroy any violently hostile or aggressive opponent in front of you."

Then we get to the closing of the passage, where it's no longer the psalmist talking about God, but the Lord Himself speaking: "The LORD says, 'I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name. When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them. I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation.'"

Every line highlights a different facet of God's character that we can trust and lean on:

• He is our rescuer,

• He is our protector,

• He answers when we call,

• He is with us in the midst of trouble,

• He honors us,

• And He saves us!

Application:

These verses have been applicable to me in situations where I'm feeling overwhelmed, anxious, or facing things that feel like "lions and cobras" in front of me. They have served as the much needed reminder that I don't have to be afraid of mere humans, or even opposition in my life, because the LORD is with me.

Some of the applicable takeaways from this passage for me were:

• Make the Lord your refuge by abiding in Him through prayer, worship, journaling, and reading His Word.

• Seek the Lord when you feel afraid, and He will answer you.

• Trust that you're surrounded by angels who are on assignment from your Heavenly Father to protect you.

• Remember that God is with you in the midst of trouble, so you are not alone facing your giants.

How comforting are these reminders guys!!! 🥹🥹🥹

Another application tool that has been helpful in my Bible study is asking myself: What is this passage teaching me about God? (His character, how He speaks, who He is, etc).

The answer to that question for these verses was that:

• God sees us, knows what we're navigating and wants us to rest in Him.

• When we seek God, He sends angels out to protect us.

• We don’t have to be afraid of anything we face because God is protecting us. 

• God doesn’t play about His children and He’s very protective of them.

• We may face hostile dangers, but we don’t have to be afraid of them because God is with us.

• We're surrounded by angels who protect and cover us.

• We don’t have to conjure up the strength to save ourselves when we're facing opposition because the angels God sent for us will hold us up and protect us.

• God cares about us, is mindful of us, and is compassionate towards us.

• When we call on God, He will answer us. 

• God will always be with us in the midst of trouble. 

• Trouble will come, but that shouldn’t make us feel like we're alone or forsaken by God because He is right there with us, as His Word promises. 

• God will always rescue us, even when we can’t see a way out. If rescue hasn’t come yet, it’s coming because God said He would always rescue us.

• God is kind when He speaks. He doesn’t accuse or even point back to things we may have done to cause ourselves to be in trouble. He reassures and He comforts. 

When you read through these verses, what resonates most with you? What does it teach you about God?

Prayer:

Lord, thank you for this Psalm and for this reminder from your Word that you are my refuge. Thank you for caring for me, for seeing me, and for sending angels out to surround and protect me. Thank you Lord for being with me in the midst of trouble and for never leaving me alone. When life starts lifing, please help me remember who you are and whose I am. Please help me remember that you are with me and that there is no lion or cobra that I may face that you have not empowered me to trample on. When I try to make the world my refuge, please help me remember that only you can be the refuge I need. When I try to lean on my strength to face the lions and cobras in my life, please help me remember that I need you Lord above all else. Please help me rest in who you are and remind me to be still and trust you when I try to take matters into my own hands. I trust you Lord, I thank you for being with me, and I pray all of this in Jesus' name, Amen.

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