Psalm Twenty-Seven: Take Heart

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Psalm 27

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 the wicked advance against me

    to devour me,
it is my enemies and my foes
    who will stumble and fall.
 
Though an army besiege me,
    my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
    even then I will be confident.
One thing I ask from the Lord,

    this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
    all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord
    and to seek him in his temple.
 
For in the day of trouble
    he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent
    and set me high upon a rock.
Then my head will be exalted

    above the enemies who surround me;
at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy;
    I will sing and make music to the Lord.
Hear my voice when I call, Lord;

    be merciful to me and answer me.
 
My heart says of you, “Seek his face!”
    Your face, Lord, I will seek.
 
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,
    God my Savior.

Though my father and mother forsake me,
    the Lord will receive me.
 
Teach me your way, Lord;
    lead me in a straight path
    because of my oppressors.
 
Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes,
    for false witnesses rise up against me,
    spouting malicious accusations.
I remain 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.
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Sticky tacked to the wall in my office is the last portion of this verse. In fact, I love it so much, that I wrote in on the whiteboard in the church office. When you really break this verse apart, you find so much goodness here. It starts by saying, "I remain confident of this:" Look at the word remain. To remain means to continue to possess a particular quality. The quality is that of confidence. David says that he will continue in confidence. And, what is he confident in? He is confident that he will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Right here, right now, we can hold to the goodness of the Lord. Even when our life seems anything but good. Even now with Covid-19, we can hold to the goodness of God. Look at what David says at the end. Take a moment with me and imagine the man who lead armies, the man who killed the giant Goliath, saying these words to you: "Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord". Be strong, take heart! Do not allow this time of hardship, do not allow your struggles, do not allow your pain to steal your confidence. You are a child of God and we can be confident that we will see God's goodness. BE STRONG and TAKE HEART!! We hear Jesus reiterate these words in John 16:33 - "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world"

What stood out to you in this Psalm?
How are you doing during this time? Are you losing confidence in the goodness of God? Or are you being strong and trusting in the Lord?  

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