“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.” Psalm 27:1
What daunting challenge are you facing or about to face? Some of you are about to take final exams in school or in life. Perhaps you or a family member is facing a terminal illness. Maybe some of us are looking for a new place to live or work. Perhaps God has called you to serve in a capacity that exposes your inadequacies and insecurities. Whatever challenges we are facing, I believe Psalm 27 offers us unending encouragement.
The writer of this Psalm, King David, is facing a difficult circumstance. Some Bible students think he wrote this when he was fleeing from his son, Absalom (cf. 2 Sam. 15:1-37; 17:15-29). Imagine having to run for your life to avoid being killed by your own rebellious adult child? This may have been David’s challenge when he wrote this Psalm.
Instead of choosing to respond with fear, David chose to respond with faith in the One who is the source of his hope (“light”), deliverance (“salvation”), and “strength.” Notice the personal pronoun “my” in this verse. The Lord was not just “a” source of hope and deliverance to David, He was his source of hope and deliverance. David’s relationship with God was personal and dynamic.
What about your relationship with the Lord? Is God simply a theological thought or idea to you? Is He just a distant and uncaring deity? May be you think God is a figment of the human imagination or a superstitious “crutch” for those who need a coping mechanism? But for David, God was a personal Savior Who offers unwavering hope and strength to those who will look to Him in faith? Can you say that the Lord is your light and your salvation, and the strength of your life? If not, what is keeping you from saying that?
If you are not in a relationship with the Lord, please understand that God has revealed Himself to us in the Bible. If you want to know what God is like, read the Bible with an open mind like you would read a newspaper. The Bible is God’s love letter to us. God longs to have a personal relationship with us. But He will not force Himself into our lives. He is waiting for us to come to Him just as we are, and He will welcome us into His family and give us everlasting life (John 1:12; 3:16; 6:35). All He asks is that we believe in His perfect Son, Jesus Christ, Who died on the cross for all our sins and rose from the dead (I Cor. 15:1-5) to give us everlasting life (John 3:14-16).
When God is my light, my salvation, and my strength, there is no one and nothing for me to fear or be afraid of. Why? Because one plus God is always a majority. Since God is for me and not against me (cf. Rom. 8:31), no one and nothing can successfully oppose me. Therefore, there is no need for me to live in fear.
Let’s remember that fear takes us to places that do not exist. It either takes us to a past that is over or to a future that has not happened yet. Neither of these places can bring peace to our lives.
A wise man once told me, “In Jesus we have nothing to prove, nothing to lose, and nothing to hide.” Let that sink in for a moment. Since in Jesus, I have nothing to prove, there is no need for me to live in fear of failure. And because in Jesus, I have nothing to lose, there is no need for me to live in fear of abandoment. And finally, since in Jesus, I have nothing to hide, there is no need for me to live in fear of rejection or shame. Let’s ponder these truths as we go to the Lord in prayer.
Prayer: Lord God, You are not just “a” light or “a” source of salvation, You are “my” light and “my” salvation, and this gives me everlasting hope and security. I pray Your Holy Spirit will persuade me to rest in the truth that says, “In Jesus, I have nothing to prove, nothing to lose, and nothing to hide.” Therefore, there is no need for me to fear anyone or anything. In Jesus’ name. Amen.