Waiting for the Lord

Psalm 27:1

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?

You can probably tell, I love the Psalms, especially those attributed to the David. Remember, he as King of Israel, committed terrible sins against God, yet in repentance turned back to God.  In spite of his sins, we know David in the description about him which says he was a man after God's own heart. 

Psalm 27 begins with the declaration of David that "The Lord is my light and my salvation--whom shall I fear?"  The number of sermons and Bible lessons which have been based on that declaration are impossible to count, and I like to think it's because of the depth of its meaning and application. David continues, "The Lord is the stronghold of my life--of whom shall I be afraid?"  Adding more depth to the meaning of this entire statement of trust and dependence on God, David becomes a great example of devotion and dedication. 

Reading this entire Psalm is suggested, for in it, you will be able to see how David the sinner, got his life aligned with the righteousness of God and knew of the deliverance only God can bring. While we ponder only a couple of statements at the first of the Psalm, I wish to direct you to the last two verses as David shows us the lesson of waiting on God. When you read the last two verses, remember they are written by the one who experienced God as his light, his salvation, and his stronghold. 

¹³ I remain confident of this:
    I will see the goodness of the Lord
    in the land of the living.
¹⁴ Wait for the Lord;
    be strong and take heart
    and wait for the Lord.

David's confidence is one lesson we should learn. The Christian life is one that shares with us such confidence as we, like David, turn from sin to God's light, salvation, and come to know him as our stronghold. Then there is the lesson of "waiting" on the Lord. In our lives of time-saving devices and labor-saving schemes, waiting is not our strong trait. However, David would have us to know there are some good things that happen when we wait on the Lord. The importance of such waiting is where we gain strength. Our weakness hampers our life of service to God, but David says to wait on the Lord builds strength. He would also have us to take heart. That's Bible talk meaning the strength we gain from waiting, happens on the inside, where it's needed. David repeats again, "wait for the Lord."

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