by Pastor Rich Carlson

According to scholars and other inspired people, David wrote Psalm 27 while he was a fugitive running for his life as others tried to take his throne from him. I've never faced such a dilemma, but I have felt attacked and I have felt that I was about to “go down.” How about you?

Life is not always wonderful and things don't always turn out the way I want them to. That's when I like to be reminded from David of how to hang on. Even better than that: how to have a clear purpose and process for hanging on. This psalm gave that to me this morning.

David starts out in Psalm 27:1 with three things that cause him to be fearless in the face of danger. John Calvin called it his “triple shield of defense": (1) “The Lord is my light”—I see where I'm going when I let Jesus lead; (2) “The Lord is my salvation”—I keep things in perspective when I know what Jesus accomplished already for me on the cross; (3) “The Lord is my stronghold”—I face life with confidence because I have learned on whom to lean and trust. Then he lists one request, four action steps, and his statement of confidence.

David’s only request is “That I may dwell in the house of the Lord, gaze upon the beauty of the Lord, and seek Him in His temple.” OK, so it's a compound “only” with three pieces, but this is what gave David confidence. What a great place to go when things are tough! What a great thing to look at when I'm not seeing clearly! What a great thing to seek when life is dark!

David’s four actions steps are: (1) “I will sing”—Praising God keeps me focused on Him in tough times. (1) “I will seek His face”—Searching for God keeps me looking for the right answer. (3) “I will be confident”—Trusting in God when things are tough encourages me. (4) “I will wait for the Lord”—Having faith in God makes His timing my timing.

David’s concluding statement of confidence is, “I will see the goodness of the Lord!”

David has again equipped me for another day. No matter what comes today, I know again where to turn, on whom to focus, where to go, and what to do. And all this can give me the same confidence it gave David. I believe it will do the same for you! Have a great day allowing God to “teach you His ways.”

Rich Carlson is the campus chaplain at Union College in Lincoln, Nebraska. God is Faithful is adapted from the daily email devotionals Rich writes for the Union College family.