Aug 23 - God is Bigger

Read Psalm 27: 1-6

Context: Written by David, but we don't know when or what the situation was.

Text:
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. (NIV)



Footnotes:

Psalm 27:2 Or to slander me
I imagine that David saw more fear in a few short years than most of us will in a lifetime. As a young shepherd boy watching his father's sheep, he killed a lion and a bear with his bare hands. He was anointed as the next king without a clue of what that meant. He was called into service of the king to play music whenever the king was in a bad mood. He struck down the giant, Goliath, when no other esteemed warrior of Israel would face him.

He faced difficult battles and killed thousands of foes. Then, when things seemed to be going right, his arch enemy, Saul, pursued him for several years. David was forced to flee and live in caves as he was hunted from all sides.

In every instance he was saved from sure death by his Lord. God didn't take away the danger, but he brought David through each situation, strengthening him each time. David learned to rely on God's faithfulness and to understand that His greatness far exceeded any danger man or animal could present. As Junior Asparagus so eloquently put it in a Veggie Tales video, "God is bigger than the boogie man."

I'm glad God is on my side!