On Being Fearless (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 evil men advance against me to devour my flesh,
When my enemies and 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.
Psalm 27: 1-3 (New International Version)
David (the writer of this Psalm) seems to have much to be afraid of: evil men coming to devour his flesh, attacks from every side, armies coming for him. These are fear-inducing circumstances, for sure. Yet, David declares no fear in the face of all that would come against him. He is fearless, truly fearless. Has he unlocked the door to his most confident self somehow? What is his secret? I want to be fearless. Don’t you?
One thing I ask of the Lord,
This is what I seek…
Psalm 27:4
What does the one with armies knocking at his door seek most? What would you seek most in the face of your fears? Safety? Comfort? For all the hard and scary things to be done and over and gone?
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.
Psalm 27:4
What does the one with armies knocking at his door seek most?
To dwell in the house of the Lord, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord, to seek him in his temple.
In the face of all that is scary, David longs only to seek the beautiful face of his Saviour. Perhaps this is where David’s fearlessness comes from. He is not fearless because he is more powerful than those who attack him or confident in his own ability to defeat them. David is fearless because He seeks only to gaze upon the beautiful face of his God. He has become confident in the nature of this God to shelter him, to be a true refuge, a light in the darkness, a life-bringer where there is only death. David has found his God to be merciful and just, the One who is hope. David is fearless because he knows God.
What are you afraid of?
How can you gaze upon the beauty of God today?
Some ideas: take five minutes of quiet (in the car, folding laundry, washing dishes, at your desk, wherever) and ask God to remind you of His names, His beauty.
Continue reading Psalm 27.
Take a walk without headphones on and see all that God has created.
Listen to music.
Ask someone how they’ve seen God present in their life.
Read Psalm 27 and paint/draw a phrase that stands out to you.
I’d love to hear how you gazed upon the beauty of God. Let me know in the comments.