Thursday

February 26, 2009

Psalm 27

¹ 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?

² When evil men advance against me
to devour my flesh, ^[a]
when my enemies and my foes attack me,
they will stumble and fall.

³ Though an army besiege me,
my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
even then will I be confident.

⁴ One thing I ask of the LORD,
this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to seek him in his temple.

⁵ 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.

⁶ 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.

⁷ Hear my voice when I call, O LORD;
be merciful to me and answer me.

⁸ My heart says of you, "Seek his ^[b] face!"
Your face, LORD, I will seek.

⁹ Do not hide your face from me,
do not turn your servant away in anger;
you have been my helper.
Do not reject me or forsake me,
O God my Savior.

¹⁰ Though my father and mother forsake me,
the LORD will receive me.

¹¹ Teach me your way, O LORD;
lead me in a straight path
because of my oppressors.

¹² Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes,
for false witnesses rise up against me,
breathing out violence.

¹³ I am still confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the LORD
in the land of the living.

¹⁴ Wait for the LORD;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the LORD.

Many times we call on God to save us and protect us from the things in our lives that attack. It always seems that THIS time I need to be saved from a test or JUST THIS ONCE get me to the airport on time. I was running the other day and thinking about how I needed God to deliver me one more time and that throughout my life I had only really wanted a few things. I convinced myself that I am a “good” person as I was running. I brush my teeth and say my prayers and make sure to help the elderly cross the street. Why is God picking on me this time? Am I just the fly that a masochistic God is pulling the wings off of? Of course not

This sort of posturing and self-pity is just a feeble homage to the martyr of Saint Me. Everyone deals with the daily inconveniences, everyone has to hit hard parts in life. David tells us in Psalm 27 verse 3 “When an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war rise up against me, yet I will be confident.” David had seen trouble and had literally slept with an enemy army sleeping a mile away. Yet David saw even that as glory to God. We cannot live in the fear of being conquered. David goes on to say in verse 5, “For He [God] will hide me in His shelter in the day of trouble.” When the real trouble comes, THAT is the time that we will know God’s presence. He is with us just as He was with David so when we see the enemy encampments of school or social pressures there is nothing to fear.

In this season of Lent, I encourage you to face these small issues that seem insurmountable with courage and remember 2^nd Timothy 1:7

“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.”

I would also like to leave you with my favorite verse and one that I have been leaning on for some time now:

“I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

Written by a PC Junior

Today Please Pray For:

RAs