The Blessing of Psalm 27: Part I

                                                                

I often find myself reading the same passage of scripture over and over again when I am going through a trial. There are times when some parts of the Bible seem to not be able get off the page, through my eyes, and into my heart, but other parts of the Bible just reach into the depths of my soul and speak to me with each and every reading. One of the passages that has really helped me immensely is Psalm 27. I am going to make this a series, and as of yet, I don't know how many parts there will be, but I do hope it will be as much of an encouragement to you as it is to me!

Psalm 27:1  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?

This is the first time in the Bible in which the metaphor "light" is used to explain God. The word "is" is a linking verb, and the word "light" is a noun used to rename or further explain God---God IS light.  We often think of a trial as a dark time. If we draw close to God, who is light, when we are going through a trial, we will benefit from the light God sheds on the issues we deal with; if we pull away from God, who is light, we will go through our trial in darkness. The farther away from God you go, the darker your way will become.  Have you ever been in a situation in which it is so dark that you can't even see your hand in front of your face? I have. A few years ago, our family took a trip to Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. Our tour guide led us down, down, down into a cavern far below the earth's surface. He led us into an underground room, and when everyone was seated on the benches in the room, he told us that he was going to turn out the lights.  When he did that, the darkness was thick and overwhelming, and no matter how close my hand was to my face, I couldn't make it out. I imagined the Indians that first adventured into the cave system and how they had to totally rely on the torches to light their way.  Without light, they would have gotten lost and died in the maze of tunnels.  God's speaks to us through His word which is His light--"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto  path" (Ps. 119:105).  God sheds light on every issue that we deal with and gives principles to guide each step of the way.

This verse also says that the Lord is my salvation. David, the writer of this Psalm, went through some desperate days when he was being relentlessly pursued by the jealousy crazed King Saul and his men. David did not have an army behind him to fight King Saul; rather, David had to rely on God to be his sole source of salvation.  Although these were fearful times for David, David was confident that God was his salvation. We can place our confidence in God! If you have trusted Christ to be your personal Saviour, then God is on your side, and He will be your salvation when times of trouble come if you draw close to Him.

So often when life's road is seemingly smooth, we can become self-confident. When problems occur, then we run to God.  God's word is never so meaningful as when we are suffering. That's when we realize that the Lord really is the strength of our life. People who do not understand what having a relationship with God is truly about, have often accused Christians of using religion as a crutch. The world has its crutches--alcohol, drugs, intellectualism, science, careers, relationships, etc. The worlds crutches all eventually fail and disappoint and can even lead to bondage, but God will never fail. I praise the Lord that God is my crutch!

During the Depression, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was voted in as president.  During FDR's inaugural speech, he addressed American's fears by stating, "There is nothing to fear but fear itself."  People are fearful by nature. We fear death, financial loss, instability in relationships, poor health, and the list goes on and on. The last statement of verse one says, "Whom shall I fear?" God does not want us to live in fear. Are bad things going to happen? Are trials going to come? Yes, but we can be confident that we are never alone, and that God will be our light, our strength, and our salvation if we trust in Him.