God's Got This

Psalm 27

As we gather today in the spirit of worship, I want to take us on a journey that many of us are familiar with—one that unfolds in the heart of the African savanna, in Disney’s beloved tale and one of my favorite movies, "The Lion King."

Picture this: young Simba and Nala, filled with curiosity and a sense of adventure, are lured away from the safety of their home by Simba’s villainous uncle, Scar.

Drawn by the thrill of the unknown, they find themselves in the forbidden elephant graveyard, a place shrouded in danger and darkness.

In that moment, as they explore the eerie remnants of the past, they are suddenly surrounded by a pack of menacing hyenas.

Fear grips their hearts as they realize the peril they are in.

Just when it seems all hope is lost, a powerful roar echoes through the air.

It is Mufasa, Simba’s father, who arrives just in time to protect them. With strength and courage, he drives the hyenas away.

Simba seeing this, feels that his father is invincible. If a pack of hyenas couldn’t stop his father then who could?

Simba left there with all the confidence in the world. He got in trouble but Simba learned that his father was baadddd man.

Have you ever viewed someone the Simba viewed Mufasa? Meaning have you ever felt safe, secure, protected, covered.

Have you ever had so much confidence in a person that you feared nothing?

I think the first person I ever had that much confidence in growing up was my dad. Looking back at it, I looked at my dad the way that Simba looked at his father.

I knew that my dad wouldn’t let anything happen to me.

I can remember playing outside near the pond at our house and coming across a water moccasin. Now I don’t know how many of y’all grew up in the country but seeing a water moccasin in the country is a common thing.

And for those of you who don’t know what a water moccasin is, it also known as a cottonmouth and it is a snake that is found throughout the southeast.

They are venomous and bites by them are common and if you get bitten by one, you need to hurry to the hospital but don’t panic because panicking can send you into shock.

So, I can remember playing outside and there it was a water moccasin curled up ready to strike. I yell! My dad hears me and comes to see what’s wrong. He grabs a chopping hoe, kills the snack and all is right with the world.

I also remember times in middle school when kids bullied me and seeing my dad go to bat for me. If someone messed with me, I knew that my dad could beat them up.

I felt that my dad was invincible. I walked around fearing nothing or anyone because I knew that my dad was a baaaddddd man.

Y’all, there is almost no great joy in the world than having the peace of mind of knowing that someone will always have your back and be there to rescue you in your time of trouble.

Someone to shield you from the things that could harm you.

When I think about how Simba viewed his dad and I think about how I viewed my dad when I was a child, I am reminded that even in our darkest moments, each of us have a protector watching over us, shielding us, protecting us, and providing for us.

Much like Simba and Nala, we too can find ourselves tempted by the allure of risky paths—paths that lead us away from the safety and guidance of our Heavenly Father.

As we reflect upon this story of Simba, Mufasa, and Nala, we are pointed to the psalmist words in the 27th psalm.

Look at how he begins the Psalm and I think this is just beautiful. (Psalm 27:1-2

Psalm 27:1–2 NRSV

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? When evildoers assail me to devour my flesh— my adversaries and foes— they shall stumble and fall.

Do y’all see this confidence that the Psalmist has in God?

And the part that just makes my bones quake is that rhetorical question he asks in verse one,

“whom shall I fear?”

When I read this I am saying to myself, oh my God, he is mocking the enemy.

Do we know what the psalmist is saying here?

He’s saying, “the Lord is with me and he goes before me, what are you going to do about Satan?”

You see sometimes we need to speak into our circumstances like this.

Those times when we leave the house to go to that job that gives us anxiety.

When go around those people that make us anxious.

When we go around those people we know don’t mean us any good but we still have to deal with them.

When there’s more bills than money

When the car broke down but you don’t know how you’re going to fix it

When your president is out here trying to make it difficult the lowest common denominator in society.

When all hell breaks loss in your life.

Sometimes you have to look in the mirror before you leave home in the morning and before you go to bed at night and say,

“The Lord is my strength and my salvation whom shall I fear and be afraid?”

Better yet, the Lord is my strength and my salvation and I will not fear:

the bill collector, my mean boss on the job,

I am not going to fear losing my good Federal Government job.

I am not going to fear what the future holds.

I am not going to fear the thing that is causing my son or daughter to be disrespectful towards me because God is with me.

He is the stronghold of my life, in him I can hid. I will not be afraid.

My sisters and brothers, sometimes we just have to get real with God about our situations.

This is something I struggle with.

I am worrier. I worry about things and I bring those things home. And yes, a lot of times, the things that I worry about keep me up at night.

This is what the psalmist is experiencing. I don’t know exactly what the psalmist is anxious about but it has to something heavy.

And I am sure that each of us can relate to what he’s saying here in the text.

The psalmist is in an elephant graveyard and the hyenas are closing in on him.

But the psalmist knows that God is going to step in and rescue him. He is going to come like a roaring lion ready to protect his young.

You know one of my favorite passages of scripture is found in Luke 13:34 b and it speaks to the protective nature of God. Luke writes:

Luke 13:34 NRSV

How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!

When we think of mother hens, we don’t think of much right?

I mean a hen is not as majestic or ferocious as a lion.

But hens are probably some of the most protective creatures on this planet. A hen will literally give their up their to protect their own.

There are instances where barns have caught a fire and a mother hen and her chicks were caught in that fire and when a crew comes over to uncover the wreckage, they found a mother hen dead with her wings covering her chicks and the chicks were unharmed.

The mother hen literally gave up her life to protect her chicks.

Is this not what the psalmist is describing in this text?

Have we not experienced God shielding us from destruction.

And the thing is, sometimes the destruction in our lives is of our own doing.

Sometimes we make our lives destructive by decisions and choices that we’ve made. But yet, God is still there protecting us from our own destruction.

Not only is God there still protecting us but is speaking over your life and he’s saying, “this is my daughter, this is my son, they matter to me.

You matter that much to God that he would cover you with his prevenient grace. That when the world is ready to throw you away, God is saying I can’t do it.

Look at what the author wrote in verse 10, “if my father forsake me, the Lord will take me up.”

I am an avid listener of music and one of my favorite genres of music is the blues and when I think about this verse, I think about what BB King said in the song entitled, “Nobody Loves Me But My Mother.” King writes,

The Book of Psalms 2. Nobody Loves Me but My Mother

“Nobody loves me but my mother, and she could be jivin’ too.” In one version of the song, King then asked, “What I wanna know now, is what we gonna do?”

The Book of Psalms 2. Nobody Loves Me but My Mother

The ancient psalmist already had an answer: Even my father and mother have abandoned me, but the LORD will gather me in. The psalms know the betrayals and abandonments we can face in our lives. But the psalms also know the persistent faithfulness and loyalty of the Lord, who has promised to gather in all who hope in the LORD.

Now think about who this psalm was likely written by:

It was written by a man who was possibly least thought of among his brothers.

A man who made his fair share of bad decisions.

A man who himself was in the elephant graveyard as the hyena known as his father-in-law was out to kill him.

This man even watched as his own side tried to take the throne from him.

For those who don’t know, the writer of this psalm is no other than David and David despite his faults is showing us a faith and a confidence in God that goes beyond the norm.

But I also, want you to notice something about David’s life. Each time he was in the elephant graveyard, he called out to God.

David recognized that he had limitations and as a result, he sought after someone who had no limitations.

You see, a lot of times when we get into situations, we try God last.

We call everybody that we trust and know for advice and there’s nothing wrong with that but we need to try God.

It’s possible that David in trying to be delivered from whatever it is he’s going through, sought guidance and wisdom from other sources. I mean kings have a lot of advisors.

But, at some point he had to say to himself, you know I have tried everything and I don’t know what to do but you know what, I’m going to get in my posture of prayer and I am going to try God.

My sisters and brothers, at some point in our spiritual walk, we have to get to a place where God is not the last resort.

At some point, we must develop a trust, confidence, and faith in God to where God is always the first resort.

We have to learn to seek God in all things.

Those nights when that issue is keeping you up at night.

Get out of bed and go to your posture of prayer. Have a conversation with God and see won’t that thing begin to change.

If you don’t remember anything else I say tonight, remember this, the change to your situation begins with God.

I am going to say it again, the change to your situation begins with God. All you have to do is seek him.

I invite you to seek him. That is the beauty of Lent, it is an opportunity to wholly seek God. Will you seek him and watch what he does with your situation?

Will you develop a trust and a confidence in him to where whatever situation arise in your life, you will say: Psalm 27:1-14

Psalm 27:1–14 NRSV

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? When evildoers assail me to devour my flesh— my adversaries and foes— they shall stumble and fall. Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war rise up against me, yet I will be confident. One thing I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple. For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will set me high on a rock. Now my head is lifted up above my enemies all around me, and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing and make melody to the Lord. Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud, be gracious to me and answer me! “Come,” my heart says, “seek his face!” Your face, Lord, do I seek. Do not hide your face from me. Do not turn your servant away in anger, you who have been my help. Do not cast me off, do not forsake me, O God of my salvation! If my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will take me up. Teach me your way, O Lord, and lead me on a level path because of my enemies. Do not give me up to the will of my adversaries, for false witnesses have risen against me, and they are breathing out violence. I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!

And I am going to repeat that last line, “Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord! God’s Got This! In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.