Daily Devotional for Thursday, June 27

David’s Praise

“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?” Psalm 27:1.

The Psalter is our songbook, and the Psalms are the songs of our hearts. They carry the emotions, the worries, the joys and the fears of life and put them to words and expressions for us to sing to Jesus. Next to this psalm in my Bible is a prayer for God to give this thought, to give this psalm, to our persecuted brothers and sisters overseas. As they face hardship and persecution because of the faith, I want them to know that the Lord is their light and their salvation. I want them to know that Jesus is the strength of their life so that they may trust in Him even when all looks bad.

This psalm, however, is not just for those overseas. It is a song for me to sing as well. It is a song for my children to sing. It is the Truth that brings life to us. Looking at my own life, I see that I have not internalized the Psalms enough. What if I knew this psalm so well that when fear and anxiety began to fill my thinking, I would begin to sing this song? What would happen to us, as the people of God, if we had this kind of hope and encouragement ready to flow through our minds and our voices? It would no doubt change how we face our problems.

We face different anxieties and different issues than David faced, and we face different concerns than our brothers and sisters in North Korea or Yemen or Pakistan. But this hope is for us. We, too, must exhibit hope in the face of fear. We, too, must proclaim the saving power of Jesus amid our pain and trials. Sing the Psalms to God and see your life changed.

REFLECTION
“Of whom shall I be afraid?” (verse 1). Seriously ask yourself this question during the next trial you face and trust in God.

Jason Rutherford