Psalm 27:1-6, Do Not Be Afraid!

How many of you have some fear on your mind today?

Are you worried about the safety of your children? Gun violence? Is your spouse acting suspiciously? Inflation is affecting your finances!... or lack of finances! What about your health? Are you worried about your health? We all have fears.

Psalm 27:1-6 The Lord is my light and salvation; whom should I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life; Whom should I dread. When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh, my adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell. If an army encamp against me, my heart will not fear, If war arises against me, in spite of this I am confident. One thing that I asked from the Lord, that I shall seek; That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to meditate in His temple. For on the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle. He will hide me in the secret place of His tent; He will lift me up on a rock. And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me, and I will offer sacrifices in His tent with shouts of joy; I will sing YES, I will sing praises to the Lord.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer on praying the Psalms wrote that whenever the psalms are abandoned from the Christian church, we lose an important treasure.

Psalms are a collection of poems and praises about God. In the gospel of Luke 24 verse 44, Jesus told His disciples, “These are my words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the prophets and Psalms must be fulfilled.

The house that I was raised up in as a child had a back door with a tree about ten feet outside the door. I remember that I was no older than 4 years old the day that I saw my older sister running and my mother was after her. My mom, in full stride, broke a switch from the tree and never missing a step she swung at my sister who screamed as she ran around the yard. In May I visited my mother; I had not been down south in a while because of Covid. My mother’s health had deteriorated, and she forgets everything. I not only fear for her but also for my oldest sister who left her home vacant in Jersey to spend 24/7 taking care of her during Covid. I feared for her mental health as well. This psalm gave me strength! I know some of you have much greater fears, but fear is subjective.

For example, King David wrote this Psalm in one phase of his life. David was a small shepherd boy who became popular after he killed a giant that had kept king Saul and a fearful army at bay. Saul became jealous and had David on the run for his life. God favored David and he became King. As you might remember Jesus Christ is a descendant of King David. As king he fought many battles mostly against the Philistines. His daughter was raped by his son. David displeased God by bearing a son with a married lady and having her husband killed, and later in life, his rebel son Absalom tried to take his throne away. So King David is well qualified to speak on fear and God’s blessings as well. One of the most common themes of the bible is ‘DO NOT FEAR’. When Abraham left his family, God told him “Do not be afraid, I am your shield. “Isaiah, Elijah, and Jeremiah were told not to fear. Mary, mother of Christ was told not to fear. When Christ was born the shepherds were told not to fear. When Christ’s tomb was discovered empty, the angel told the women do not fear. In every phase of our lives, we fear. As infants the shadows on the walls make us scared of monsters. I had a vivid imagination. I needed a night light until I was much older. As teens we fear our peers whether it is bullying, the way we dressed, or our grades. As adults we worry about finances, relationships, children, neighbors. Then we grow old and worry about the same things and now we also fear declining health and death. When do we stop worrying? If we Know God, we do not have to be afraid.

Reason #1: God is here for us in personal struggles.

Verse number one tells us that “God is my light and my salvation” For King David, this is a personal relationship: MY light, MY salvation. Is Jesus Christ your light and your salvation?

Do you have a personal relationship with God?

The apostle Paul said in Romans 13:11-12, “For now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore, let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.” So, when we are in the darkness of life, God brings us light. This light stems from our new birth of faith and trusting in Him. Darkness represents our fears and our past lives before we became intimate with Christ. Besides our personal struggles of sin, we are always under assault by evildoers. King David was a prime example. The power of darkness is not to be feared because God, through Christ, gives us light. King David asked, “whom shall I fear?” Who should you fear?? What do you fear today??

I remember the day that I arrived at the combat support hospital outside of Bagdad. There was total darkness. We in the USA do not know what total darkness is. In the distance I could hear bombing just as you hear thunder in a distance. I knew that eventually; the bombing will come closer and closer as thunder does. I was afraid and I prayed. My fears subsided with time. I have learnt from my personal experiences with Christ that He will answer my prayers.

David in verse one and two showed great confidence in the Lord. God gave him strength to fight personal battles time and time again. I want you to reflect on a few personal questions.

(1) What are the sources of your fear. (2) How do you normally respond to fear. (3) Now that you are saved and knowing that God is your strength and salvation, how does that help you respond to your fears?

Think of a time when God has taken your fears away. Fear is a natural human response, but you cannot use earthly methods to fight fear. If you know that God has helped you in the past, know that He will do it again. No one cannot fight Satan by earthly means. His greatest weapon against people of faith is fear.

Reason #2: God is there for us in life’s struggles.

Verses 1 and 2 speak of my light, my fear, my flesh but in verse 3, David speaks of a host encamped against me. He is not speaking of personal assaults anymore; he is speaking of the system, the government, society, and the powers that we cannot control. We cannot control war, inflation, health problems, bigotry, racism, age, or sex discrimination. David says that though war will arise against me. I shall be confident. As believers we must trust that God will win our battles. Our faith becomes the shield that protects us. God is always bigger than any problem or fear that we will encounter in life. If any army besiege you, war break out against you, you lose your job, a loved one dies; whatever the circumstance let your heart not fear and stay confident in God.

Three years ago, I went to the emergency room. During the examination the resident physician did an ultrasound and then he rushed away and brought the doctor in charge. And you know you never see the doctor in charge in the ER. He told me about a prostate mast, and they immediately wheeled me down for a cat scan. I had the radiologist report and 2 ER doctors told me that basically I had prostate cancer and to see a urologist immediately! Life or death type appointment. I started wondering how long I had to live, but I prayed. It told 5 weeks to see a urologist who immediately said after one test that I had an enlarged prostate. During those 5 weeks of waiting God put my mind at ease and when I went to that appointment, I was at peace by the strength of Christ.

Some of you today are dealing with fears caused by issues out of your control. Covid has killed millions around the world. The works of Martin Luther King and civil right activists has been eroded in one presidency. Now the weather is changing to extreme levels. Christians around the world are being persecuted for their faith. Some churches in the United States are empty on Sunday mornings. Pastors are preaching new age worldviews in order to keep a congregation. Yes! Yes! We have reason to fear! But we cannot be weak Christians scared of everyone and everything. Know what God has done in the past to rid you of fear and know that He will do it again and again. In the present and in the future. Be confident in the strength of the Lord because He is our light and our salvation.

Reason #3: Rejoice because we know what worship can do.

Verses 4 to 6 mentions tabernacle and temple. King David is not speaking of the tabernacle Christian church or a Jewish temple! A tabernacle was a tent that the Israelites used while in the wilderness and a temple was the permanent structure once they reached the promised land. They are an equivalent to our church. These structures were the sanctuary where God resided among His people. The Holy Spirit exists now in us as a result of Christ’s crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension. David shares his secret with us in verses 4 to 10. Verses 1-3 shows how David relied on God during crisis but starting in verse 4, David shares how he prays to God for the daily strength to overcome any problem or crisis that brings fear. Verse 4 starts, “One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek.” What is one thing that you would ask from the Lord if you had one choice? I bet most would ask for material stuff like a good job, money, a good spouse, a house, definitely well behaved children, or good health. David’s son, King Solomon asked for wisdom to rule justly. That pleased God. But David asked that he may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of his life. He gets everything! David is not talking about literally moving into the temple, tabernacle, or church. David is speaking of being in God’s presence and having that heavenly mindset of knowing and being with God on a personal level. Luke 24:53 says that the apostles were continually in the temple praising God after His ascension. David might have been on the run from King Saul when he wrote this Psalm. He greatest need was to be back home worshipping with his people. David had a need to be in the house of the Lord for two reasons. (1) To behold the beauty of the Lord. (2) To meditate in His temple. God is in spirit so there is no physical beauty or physical form. God’s beauty here is His perfection of love, power, mercy, kindness, grace, and glory. His beauty attracts us to love Him, and through faith we are led to worship him. With God, there are no imperfections. God is our light and our salvation. There is no one here on earth, past, present, or future that has the perfection of God. I remember when I met my son’s mother and she was perfect – looks, intelligence and attitude – the works! I wanted to dwell in her house forever! But time eroded all that! I started to see imperfections as she saw mine. In relationships we learn to compromise but with God we do not have to because with Him our attachment to Him only declines because of our actions. He always keeps His promises because He is perfection. In Exodus 33:22 God makes it known to Moses that he can experience His presence when he enters His secret place. When we are shielded and protected by God, when we praise Him and communicate with Him, on the day of trouble (verse 5), He will conceal, hide, and lift us up. Like David, we must go to church. We must have a relationship with Christ our God. When we are in bed on a Sunday morning and Satan convinces us that we can skip this week and go next week, know that next week Satan will tell you this again. Refute Satan’s advances and get up and go to church. David tells us and we know from experience that once we are in that hidden place residing with the Lord we are protected from those messy neighbors, coworkers, or those trying to do us harm. When external influences like sickness, layoffs, or government causes you fear, do not despair because we are members of God’s Kingdom and guaranteed eternal life. It is God who sent His son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross, Christ was resurrected as promised, and He ascended into heaven for our salvation. It is the light of God that brings us out of that darkness of a sinful nature and protect us from every fear. So, whom do you fear?? Fear only the Lord because He is our mighty creator. I want each of you today to write you fears down. Be honest with yourself. It is only between you and Christ. I want you to read Psalm 27 and try to relieve those fears. I fear for my mother’s illness. She is now in a nursing home with more specialized care. I fear for both my sons. They are two African American males one adopted and struggles with the trauma of childhood. I fear for everyone dealing with Covid and its reoccurring strains. As a results of Covid there is inflation. There is war in the streets not only in Ukraine. I fear for my sons. I can only intercede with prayer on people’s behalf. Each of you must pray and worship Christ and have a personal relationship with Him so that in that time of crisis we will be hidden because He has your back! Life is a continuation of trials that causes fear. We CANNOT conquer fear with earthly solutions. There is only one way to conquer fear and that is by knowing God. With Christ we received the Holy Spirit. We now live with the spirit in us therefore let us be guided by the Holy Spirit to overcome every fear and to have a life of love, peace, joy, humility, and kindness.