Facing challenges? Fighting frustration?

Are you facing challenges? Fighting frustration? Battling fear? One of my favorite passages of Scripture is Psalm 27, which always ministers God’s peace to me and shows me how to enjoy victory over circumstances. I pray it will be encouraging to you as we share it here.

Psalm 27 - a Psalm of David (New King James Version)

“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?

When the wicked came against me To eat up my flesh,

My enemies and foes, They stumbled and fell.

Though an army may encamp against me, My heart shall not fear;

Though war may rise against me, In this I will be confident” (Psalm 27:1-3).

Because of the Lord’s power, authority, and care - and because I belong to Him - my heart and mind are secure in Him. I will not fear. He is the strength of my life, my Rock, my fortress, my strong tower. He is unmovable, unshakeable … faithful and true. Hebrews 10 tells us, “Don’t cast away your confidence, in which there is great reward.” The hymn says, “My hope is built on nothing less, than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.” The revelation of such truth brings peace to our hearts.

David continues:

“One thing I have desired of the LORD, That will I 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 inquire in His temple.

For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion;

In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me;

He shall set me high upon a rock.

And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me;

Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle;

I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD.

Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice!

Have mercy also upon me, and answer me.

When You said, “Seek My face,”

My heart said to You, “Your face, LORD, I will seek.”

Do not hide Your face from me; Do not turn Your servant away in anger;

You have been my help; Do not leave me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation.

When my father and my mother forsake me, Then the LORD will take care of me” (Psalm 27:4-10)

“One thing…” says the Psalmist. What is the “one thing” for you? What is it that you desire above all else? Jesus said, “Seek first the Kingdom of God, and I’ll provide whatever else is necessary for your blessing (see Matthew 6). The Psalmist says, “Above all else, I desire to dwell in God’s house.” Not only to observe him as a visitor, but to know Him as Father, a member of His famiy, to press into that relationship every day, for as long as we live. When everything else around fails or falls, the love and power of God endure and lift us up.

Then, David asks God:

“Teach me Your way, O LORD,

And lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies.

Do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries;

For false witnesses have risen against me,

And such as breathe out violence.

I would have lost heart, unless I had believed

That I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.

Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage,

And He shall strengthen your heart;

Wait, I say, on the LORD!” (Psalm 27:11-14).

Waiting on the Lord is a challenge. We want to get out ahead of Him sometimes. We fret because of fear or impatience. We are being tried in the fire, and we want to hurry God along. Waiting on God is not just sitting idly still. It is being positioned to serve and respond to His voice in obedience when He speaks, in much the same way that a “waitress” or “waiter” respond to the needs of the person they are serving.

Letting Him teach and train us - to disciple us in His Word, by His Spirit, through His mature shepherds, in the midst of a committed spiritual community of believers, by life’s experiences (good and difficult) - prepares us for the beautiful inheritance that He has for us … not only in Heaven, but here in the “land of the living.”

May He encourage and strengthen your heart in these days, and always!

Yours in Jesus,

Stephen Simpson, Senior Pastor

P.S. Did you know we also have a dynamic, interactive News and Discussion Forum at www.csmpublishing.org/discuss where you can get the latest updates and share your own testimonies as well? Visit us there today, and chime in with your comments!

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