The LORD is my light and my salvation- whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life- of whom shall I be afraid? When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident . . . For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock. Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the LORD. Hear my voice when I call O LORD; be merciful to me and answer me . . . I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD. Psalm 27: 1-3, 5-7, 13, 14, NIV.
Gracious God, today we look to You, confident that You will direct our path, and keep us in perfect peace, in spite, of all that is happening around us. May we never forget that You are still on the throne, and that we can always come boldly, and find You there. In the blessed name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
There are wonderful passages in sacred Scripture that speak directly to our hearts. This is one of them! I have selected some of the verses of this psalm as our devotional thought for today. Perhaps on another occasion I will spend some time meditating on the others.
The psalmist begins by reminding himself of what God represents in his own experience: Light and Salvation! Two indispensable elements for quality of life. Many of us may have noticed that people who are depressed would prefer to be in the dark. They tend to keep the shades of their windows closed, they cover their heads while in bed, and they withdraw from contact with the out-of-doors. Depression seems to feed on the darkness. The next time you, or someone you know, is feeling depressed, open wide your windows, and let the sunshine in. Step out into the sunshine and suck up a reasonable amount of sunlight. You will feel the positive difference.
“Dawn LaFrance, assistant director of counseling and psychological services at Colgate University, offers these tips for beating the winter blues:
See the light. Don’t stay indoors when it’s cold out — bundle up and get some rays. ‘Natural sun can do wonders for depression, so get out of the office or the house as much as possible during the daylight hours’ ” (MedicineNet.com).
Light also has the ability to reveal what is hidden! Scripture informs us that, “[Human beings] loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil” (John 3: 19)! But Jesus, “the Light of the world” will show up, and not only reveal any dark plans that have been laid against us, but He will also save us from the evil that is in the world!
Living, knowing that we have been saved by grace, through faith in Christ Jesus, most definitely adds to our quality of life! In spiritual things as well, we need the Son of righteousness to arise with healing in His wings to save us. Some of the sweetest, genuinely joyful, most forgiving, and compassionate people that I know, are people who are convinced that their salvation is secure, as they continue steadfast in their personal relationship with Jesus! No matter what David was going through, he did not waver in the knowledge of who was the Author of his salvation! God would save him from his enemies, and finally, receive him into glory!
God was also the stronghold of his life. In God, he had stability! One definition of stronghold renders: “A well-fortified place.” Another definition was: “A place of survival or refuge.” When we have such concepts of God, we are not easily moved! Our enemies may pounce on us to “eat up [our] flesh,” but they cannot get at us, if we are hiding in our stronghold! Hallelujah! In Him we are able to escape the fiery darts of the evil one! He is our “place of survival!” Glory to God!
Jesus will never fail! He did not fail the psalmist, and He will not fail you nor me! We will continue this conversation.