Day 56: Psalms 27:1
Psalm 27:1 A Psalm of David. The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?
You, only You, Triune and only eternal Sovereign God above all, You, Lord, are light, my light – the way that I see all that is. You lead me and guide me and teach me who You are and how You want me to live. You show me what to love and how to think of this world and of all the elements of Your creation. Your light shows me the reality of sin and evil, but also of truth and justice, of goodness and of You. In Your light, I see light. You cure my blindness and let me begin to grasp Your truth. At times, I see through a mirror dimly, but by Your grace I do see. Thank You, O Lord.
You are my salvation. Jesus died once for all His children. His sacrifice covered the sin of all His people for all time including every sin of mine. O praise Your name.
My sin, o the bliss of this glorious thought
My sin not in part but the whole
Was nailed to the cross and I bear it no more
Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord, O my soul!
(It is Well With My Soul, Horatio G. Spafford, 1873)
But Lord, You accomplished far more than my one time salvation from the penalty of my sin. You have repeatedly delivered me and all Your children from the forces of darkness. You deliver me from my enemies and those who have conspired against me. You deliver me from my own sin and foolishness.
Indeed, You deliver all Your children in Your time and in Your way. Through the valley of the shadow of death You deliver us. Through the temptations of the devil and the attacks of the enemies You have repeatedly set us free.
Lord, You are greater than all. Whom shall I fear? You are Lord of life and death. No one can pluck me, or any of Your children out of Your hand. Father, forgive me when I give into my fears. Help me walk by faith and not by sight. You have delivered me again and again. You have given me hope and strength when all my hope was gone. You would think that I would learn, that we, Your children, would learn to believe and not be afraid the next time a problem came. But I know that I am too often like the disciples on the road to Emmaus. Jesus said to them, Luke 24:25-26 “25Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 26″Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” Lord, You have shown Yourself mighty on my behalf again and again. I have seen Your grace and mercy to me and to others, yet I am so foolish. With all You have shown me, with all You have shown Your people, we should have done so much more.
The Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid. God, on the logical level, I should not be afraid. But honestly, I must confess that there are times when I am afraid. Sometimes I am troubled by what might happen. Forgive me, Father, for being foolish and not trusting You as I should trust You. David confessed there were times when he was afraid. Psalm 56:3 says, “Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You.” We all have fears at times. Again, and again God had to tell His own children, Do not fear. He knows our weariness, our frailty, our temptation to doubts and fears. King David repeatedly faced tremendous odds, but in I Samuel 30:6 God’s word tells us, “Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God.” When we are frightened and pressed in from every side, by troubles and fears we must learn to trust the Lord. Lord, help us trust You by the grace that You give us in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Growing in Prayer 