Who among us, at one time or another, has not had an ominous feeling of being in danger? We may wonder, Where can I be safe? 

I recall a time when I was in another country and present at a pilgrimage of several thousand religious devotees when the celebration got out of hand. Mass chaos began to replace the previously orderly festival, and I began to feel frightened.

My concerns took me right to the ninety-first Psalm, which has comforted so many people over thousands of years. The psalm begins with the assurance that when we dwell with God “in the secret place of the most High,” we will be safe—“under the shadow of the Almighty” (verse 1). It is a definitive and unequivocal promise that God is immediately available to anyone turning wholeheartedly to Him in time of need.