My Light & My Salvation

"The Lord is my light & my salvation; whom shall I fear? 
The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?"
                     Psalm 27:1

 Psalm 27 is one of my favorite passages of Scripture. I read it several times a week because it's chocked full of promises and right perspective. Lately, God has been speaking to me about fears that I have about certain things and raising the question, "Why?" I can't get away from this verse. It stifles my reasoning for why fear would be justly caused. It's one of those verses that stops me in the middle of a fearful thought and causes me to wake from my hamster-wheel stupor of habitual partnership with the enemy's camp. It reminds me that I'm not satan's play toy.  The Lord is my light & my salvation. If I were to remove the word "Lord" there and fill in the blank with any other name, then there would be just cause to fear. But it's Yahweh's name that is placed in that sentence...Yahweh, the One through whom all things are possible. Yahweh, the One who will never leave me nor forsake me. Yahweh, the One to whom all things under heaven and on earth must yield. Yahweh, the One whose wisdom defines wisdom. Yahweh, the One whose power is so vast and good that just a whisper sends the universe into creation. Yahweh, the One who sends mercy & goodness to chase me down all the days of my life.

 He is my light & my salvation. 
Fear is ignorance and forgetfulness. Fear is illogical. Fear is proof that God is still unknown to me. Fear is rebellion against the knowledge of God I've already been given. 

 The Lord is the stronghold of my life. Yahweh...Himself. 
What a great God we get to love and commit to! His minions are not my stronghold. He's not some aloof CEO who never gets His hands dirty with His creation. He's close. He's within me. He's around me. He's involved. He's sovereign. He, Himself, is my refuge in time of need. What enemy of hell could possibly break through His fortress? What tool of the devil could stand against the love & majesty of God? I stand in Him protected & safe, no matter the circumstance. 

 Fear is a hungry monster that we eagerly & willingly feed. Our culture demands it. It sucks us dry of all our resources and rest. It renders us weak and crippled, purposeless and useless. In God, I don't feed Him. He feeds me. He fills me. He fills me with rest. He renders me strong and agile, purposeful & useful. I believe the main reason we fear comes down to our own activity...do we feed fear or do we feast on Jesus, the Bread of Life? 

 The rest of Psalm 27 goes on to teach us how to feast on God...
                 "One thing I have asked of the Lord...that I may dwell in the house of the Lord forever."
                 "I will sing and make melody to the Lord." 
                 "You have said, 'Seek My face.' My heart says to You, 'Your face, Lord, I do seek.'"
                 "Teach me Your way, O Lord, and lead me on a level path." 
                 "I believe I will look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living."
                 "Wait for the Lord; be strong, & let your heart take courage." 

 Fear is stupid. 

Comments

  1. ταράσσω v. {tar-as'-so}September 6, 2012 at 12:23 AM

    I agree. Fear is stupid. Stupid is as stupid does. "There is no fear in love. But perfect loves drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love." 1 John 4:18

    Keep writing!

    ReplyDelete

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