Text: Psalm 91:1-7
Memory verse: “But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one.”
‭‭II Thessalonians‬ ‭3‬:‭3‬ ‭NKJV‬‬.

Have you ever felt vulnerable and trapped due to betrayal, hostility, or entrapment from people you trust? If you have, you are not alone. David also felt likewise until he learnt to find protection under God’s faithfulness. Another word for God’s ‘faithfulness’ is His ‘truth’ The GNT makes it clear. “… His faithfulness will protect and defend you.” ‭‭(Psa‬ ‭91‬:‭4b‬ ‭GNT)‬‬.

Before the days of firearms, birds were captured with nets spread on the ground, in traps and snares. The fowler, who is the bird catcher, sets his trap, hides in plain sight and wait for an unsuspecting bird to trigger it, successfully capturing the bird.
Fowlers are dangerous because they are people too familiar to suspect, such as close friends, colleagues, workers, kins and some fellow believers.

They are like serpents, slippery and poisonous. They smile to you but stab you behind. They secretly seek to outsmart you and to cause your downfall. They seek partnership with evil like minds. God didn’t miss it when He described the heart of man thus: “The heart is hopelessly dark and deceitful, a puzzle that no one can figure out. But I, God, search the heart and examine the mind. I get to the heart of the human. I get to the root of things. I treat them as they really are, not as they pretend to be.” ‭‭(Jer‬ ‭17‬:‭9‬-‭10‬ MSG‬‬).

Paul described them in 2 Thes 3:2 and prayed for deliverance from wicked men. “Pray, too, that we will be rescued from wicked and evil people, for not everyone is a believer.” (2 Thes‬ ‭3‬:‭2‬ ‭NLT)‬‬. The MSG Puts it this way, “ I’m finding that not all “believers” are believers.”
Should this then make us to live in fear or react like them. No, God hasn’t called us to fear but faith. David’s unwavering faith in God’s protection is reflected in his declaration, “Surely He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence.” ‘Surely’ is an emphatic declaration of faith in God’s protection.

Paul also affirmed his trust in the faithfulness of God to keep him safe and to guard him from wicked people and satan, their master. “But the Lord is faithful; He will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.” ‭‭(2 Thes 3‬:‭3‬ ‭NLT‬‬).
Friends, don’t let the hostility, disappointments and betrayal experiences of the past make you vulnerable, bitter and fearful. Rather, affirm your faith in God’s faithfulness and let His faithfulness be your shield and buckler. In His faithfulness, He will deliver you from the fowler’s snares and guard you from the enemies who come like friends in Jesus name.

Prayer points
1. Father, thank You for Your faithfulness in strengthening and guarding me from wicked people.
2. Father, in Your faithfulness, please, deliver me from every snare of the fowlers in Jesus name.

Today’s declarations
1. God’s faithfulness is my shield and buckler.
2. Fowlers are too dangerous but through God, I am delivered from their snares to become a wonder to many.