10.11.02

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked came against me to eat up my flesh, my enemies and foes, they stumbled and fell. Though an army may encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war may rise against me, in this I will be confident. - Psalm 27:1 NKJV.

Some years ago my wife’s aunt Lilly was out mowing her lawn when she felt a sharp pain in her leg. Her first thought was that the lawn mower had thrown a rock, which had embedded itself in her leg. The doctor, however, found that she had been struck by a bullet. Lilly lived on the edge of a small town, and it was thought that a hunter’s bullet had gone astray. In the midst of the sniper madness in the Washington D.C. area a vehicle driving down the highway had the windshield blown out. At first it appeared that it might have been the work of the sniper, but birdshot was found, and it was the first day of hunting season.

It is much easier for us to deal with the random unintended dangers that surround us all the time than it is to cope with people who intentionally inflict harm. However, whatever danger we may encounter or face our God is still God. He is no less able in either type of situation. David was facing the intentional threat from enemies without, and at times from within his kingdom. Whatever the threat, we see David doing the same thing over and over and over again. In the face of danger, David turned to his God. Only in God could David find relief from the stress and strain of overwhelming fear and threat.

We live in a modern world, which is rapidly changing, and it appears as it changes it is becoming more and more dangerous. In the face of these dangers and threats, it will be tempting to question God. Where were you God? Why didn’t you do something God? Why didn’t you help me God? Why did you let this happen God? In the life of King David, we see a person who went through it all. He was on top with the defeat of Goliath, but not long afterwards King Saul hunted David like an animal for years. Later when David was king, he faced an internal threat from his own son who was finally killed, and the threat was ended. In the face of all these threats and dangers, we have David writing the great Psalms. We love to read the Psalms of David and to meditate on them, because they were written by someone who had not only been on the mountaintop, but also had experienced the very depths of despair.

As we face known and unknown dangers and threats let us follow the example of David and draw closer and closer to our Lord and Savior. May we say with David no matter what may happen, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever (Psalm 23).”