PESTILENCE
"Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night...
nor the pestilence..."  Psalm 91:5,6      

      I was attending a Bible study with a group of ladies in Temecula, California.  Our current lesson was Psalm 91.  Sitting on the sofa trying to read the Psalm, I had to stop frequently to scratch where fleas were biting, first one spot and then another.

      I became increasingly irritated, trying to read and scratch--"He shall cover you with his feathers, and under his wings--scratch--scratch--shalt thou trust:  his truth shall be thy shield and buckler."  Scratch--scratch!   "Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night--scratch--scratch--nor the arrow that fliethy by day;  Nor for the pestilence--scratch--scratch--that walketh in darkness;"

      At that point I said loudly, "Wait a minute!  If no pestilence is allowed near me, why am I letting these fleas bite me?  Is God's word true or not?"  I set my Bible down and declared in no uncertain terms, "I command every flea to leave by body right now, in the name of Jesus!"  Believe it or not, from that moment on, not one flea bit me!  They left my body.  In amazement, I shouted, "Wow! God's promises are true!"

      When my husband R.J. came in from work I reported excitedly, "Guess what, R.J., you know how the fleas bite me all the time?  Well, I was reading Psalm 91 and I ordered every flea to leave my body in the name of Jesus, and they did!  Isn't that exciting?"

      R.J. glanced at me with 'here we go again' look and replied,  "That is surprising, I must say."  Though fleas never bit him, he knew I was plagued with the little pests.

      I couldn't blame him for being a little skeptical.  Since I had become a Christian a few months earlier, I had a new miracle to tell him about almost every day.  He would sink into his recliner and roll his eyes and sigh.  I don't suppose it was easy living with a wife who just discovered the power of God's promises in the Bible.

      The next day, our son John came over to the house.  He was sitting in the front room talking to his dad when he suddenly he began scratching his legs.  "Mom," he complained, "this house is full of fleas."

      "You mean to say there are still fleas in here?"  Since I wasn't getting any more bites, I thought they had disappeared. When John and his dad went outside I thought, I'd better pray about these fleas again.  With determination.  I commanded, "In the name of Jesus, you fleas get out of this house!"

      From that day forward, nary a flea dared to venture into our house!