The world is a mess. For the record, it has been this way since the fall of man. But I digress. Social media creates fear and crushes hope. That emotional tidal wave can effect followers of Jesus if we don’t recognize the danger of losing our faith focus.

David was described as a man after God’s own heart. Yet he dealt with fear and anxiety with transparency and trust.

Psalm 27 addresses a major issue. Where do we find hope in a seemingly hopeless world? How can we address the fears that confront us consistently? 

In the Psalm David is being pursued and he believes an attack on his life is imminent. He states his hope without ignoring the danger of his current situation. Instead of downplaying his trouble he looks through a different lens. Yep. Things are a dangerous mess. Yep. I could be attacked at any moment. He starts Psalm 27 with the things he needs to remember as he confronts a deadly threat.

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?

God is my light in the darkness. God is my salvation and eternal hope. God is my strength when I am weak. Wow. Believing those truths alone will make a difference when fear rises up in my heart. But let’s be honest here. No doubt that intellectual knowledge is encouraging but how can we live out those truths when danger and fear are lurking? Let’s look at an amazing statement from the Psalmist.

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

Wait? What? 

If war breaks out against me even then I will be confident? That is not the circumstance that gives me confidence in my journey. 

How can he possibly be confident? I found it fascinating that the Hebrew word for confident translates literally to “I will trust”. David’s confidence was not in his own strength. He was trusting God and that gave him the confidence to be unafraid. 

Again, that is a comforting intellectual concept. God is my light. My salvation. My strength. I trust Him. I still need a plan to implement those truths. How do you trust God when danger is all around you? David’s plan is simple and instructive for us today.

He wanted to be present with the Lord.

My natural tendency would likely be to agonize over the circumstances. Instead David chooses, and it is a choice, to make God his priority in uncertain and difficult times.

My first instinct would be to desperately pray for protection. That God would remove me from this situation. But what did David want first and foremost?

⁴ 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.

He wanted, more that anything else, to be in the presence of the Lord. 

Author Max Lucado wrote, “The presence of fear does not mean you have no faith. Fear visits everyone. But make your fear a visitor and not a resident.”

You do that by seeking God’s presence and peace. God wants His children to commune with Him. He wants us to learn more about who He is. Then we need to bring those things we learn about God’s character into fellowship with Him in honest prayer and reflection. Knowledge alone often falls short. Knowledge combined with intimate fellowship with the Lord is a game changer. 

Now more than ever that we need to place the truths of Psalm 27 in our hearts. David’s words remind us that even in the difficult times we can persevere because our God has perfect timing and the perfect plan. There is no need to panic and force our plans to fix the problem. We can have confidence that if we turn to God for strength and wisdom we will know what our part in the solutions is. 

There is a famous saying that fits this Psalm of David.

Fear knocked at the door. Faith answered. No one was there.

When we trust God and seek His presence I believe that can be true. When we feel fear rising up we need to remember God is our light, our salvation, and our strength. The next time fear knocks on the door gather up those truths and have faith answer. It makes a powerful difference.