“What psalm and topic are you preaching on this week?” I asked while we were walking hand in hand at a local park. Henry softly replied, “Psalm 27.” I immediately responded with “Oh, I know that one well through experience - the Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?” “Let me write on that one from my heart!” So, here I am. I am writing and reflecting on this week’s passage because recently I feel like I have a lot of experience with this need to lean into the Lord’s comfort.
When asked to speak in the Central African Republic back in the Fall of 2022, one very daunting thing hanging over my head was the U.S. State Department’s warning to NOT travel in this country. The site says: Level 4: Do not travel to the Central African Republic (CAR) due to Embassy Bangui’s limited capacity to provide support to U.S. citizens, crime, civil unrest, and kidnapping. Armed groups control large areas of the country; and they regularly kidnap, injure and/or kill civilians. In the event of unrest, airport, land border, and road closures may occur with little or no notice.
So, what does it mean to be wise and yet NOT walk in fear? What does it look like to have valid concerns and fears about various things, and yet not freak out in fear or live with a sense of panic or dread? I don’t have a lot of answers to those things, but I do know one thing. This Psalm is asking you and I the question that goes like this; Who or what should you fear if I am your light? Do you trust me as your Savior? I am the stronghold of your life. Is someone or something stronger than me? The Lord wants us to make wise, informed decisions as we go about this day to day life in this world. This is exactly what we did when we listened to a “risk assessment” coordinator who gives the green light or red light for missionaries to enter various countries. We were told “come ahead”—and so we went! Was it easy? No. Was it fun? No. Was it good for me spiritually: You bet!
Here’s why this is so practical and was so good for me spiritually: I had to face my fears and go forward in the midst of fear. I walked by faith and not by sight. Needless to say, I prayed through it, talked it through, cried it out—and boarded the plane. I have learned through experience like this that you are safer when you are in God’s will on the front line of a battle than if you play it safe by sitting at home on your sofa and are not in God’s will. Sure, something could have happened to us, but we were still safe! Safe in His grip. Safe because He was with us, and we are always spiritually safe. No matter what. Safe in His presence.
Safety concerns (obsessions?) have run amuck I believe. We are often more concerned with getting the question answered “Is it safe?” than the questions “Is it right” “Is it good?” “Is it necessary? “Is it God’s Will!?” One thing that has made me feel very safe and comforted through the past few months of facing fear in Africa, and then facing fear when I had to come face to face with death (in Florida while my father in law was dying), was the classic line from the Heidelberg Catechism: What is your only comfort in life and in death? That I am not my own, but belong with body and soul, both in life and in death, to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ. Note: ONLY comfort. What was my ONLY comfort heading to Africa? Or, my recent flying to Florida alone to walk through “the valley of the shadow of death” as Henry’s dad was failing and eventually dying? I did not want to do these things. But, I am not my own. I am comforted by His grip of me. He is upholding me and eternally has me. That is my ONLY comfort. He is my only comfort in the midst of the fears. And man, I have fears! Fear is real. Yet, Jesus trumps fear. He is the only one who can. Lean in…lean in…oh, brothers and sisters, He is your light and your salvation. I pray you know this freedom, not from fear, but in the midst of fear - trusting Him.
For this Sunday, read Psalm 27.
1. Verse 1: How is the imagery of light used in the Scripture? Where is “light” present elsewhere? What is behind the picture of God as “light”?
2. Verse 2 describes those who oppose us. In what ways might evil show itself in your daily life? Externally, and internally?
3. How does verse 4 naturally arise from verse 1? What is the connection between gazing upon the beauty of the LORD and identifying Him as “my light/my salvation/my stronghold”?
4. There is a shift between verses 6 and 7—The earlier verses are statements of fact, the latter verses are addressed to God as a prayer. If you had to summarize the “mood” of these sections, what would it be?
5. The entire psalm speaks of the confidence we have in the LORD—that He has it all! How does verse 14 speak to this? What role does the author’s thought in verse 14 have in his argument?
