Facing Fear with Faith: Finding Courage in Psalm 27

“What are you afraid of?” That’s a question I heard lots of times when I was a kid, especially when another kid was daring me to do something. “Come on, Sims, what are you afraid of?” The result of that question was that I either did something dumb or got teased for being afraid to do it.

I ask you that same question: What are you afraid of? What scares you in life? Is it rejection, failure, uncertainty about the future, poverty, sickness, or death? Would you be discouraged if those closest to you turned against you? Or if people spread lies about you?

In Psalm 27, the writer is in the middle of a terrifying event. He’s under direct attack and running for his life. People are also spreading lies about him, lies designed to draw away from him those he leans on for support. If there’s a time for him to be afraid, this is it.

Many scholars believe that David wrote this psalm either while on the run from King Saul or his own son Absalom. Both wanted to destroy him, one to keep him from becoming king, the other to overthrow his rule.

David did something he had a habit of doing: he turned to God and wrote his thoughts in his prayer journal. In the first part of the psalm, he expresses absolute confidence in the Lord, and then, based on that confidence, he prays.

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? (Psalm 27:1)

This is one of my favorite Bible verses, and I’ve prayed it to God so many times. God, through David, is saying to us: “If you’re afraid of the dark, know that I am your light and your life. If you’re afraid of danger around you, know that I am your salvation. If it’s your weakness that scares you, if you’re facing something you can’t fix, know that I am your strength.”

The thoughts in Psalm 27:1-3 are echoed by Paul in Romans 8:31, “If God is for us, who canbe against us?” The writer is saying that because he has God’s guidance and strength, he doesn’t have to be afraid. God is stronger than anything he’s facing. That’s true in your life as well.

In the next three verses, David talks about the tabernacle, the “house of the Lord” where God will “hide” him. The King wasn’t a priest and couldn’t enter the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle, but he could trust in God as his refuge and live in God’s presence.

No matter what assails us, regardless of what attack we face in life, we can meet it head-on from within God’s presence. We can know that God is with us and that he’s fighting for us with his arms wrapped around us, ready to “set us high upon a rock” in victory.

David’s greatest desire was to live in God’s presence. Is that true of you? Of course, God is everywhere all the time, so we’re never out of his presence. But do you long to live with an awareness of his presence, constantly, in good times or bad? Is it your great desire to be in fellowship with the Lord throughout each day? Once you realize that God is with you, surrounding you with his love and power, you can respond the way David did in bad times, you can “sing praises to the Lord” (verse 6). There’s a time to pray, that comes next, but when everything is crashing down around you, that’s a great time to pause and worship your mighty God. You can express your worship through singing songs, reading and praying the psalms to God, serving others, and more. Turn your thoughts from yourself to your God.

Now, in verses 7-10, comes the prayer,  which starts with the words, “Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice! Have mercy also upon me, and answer me.” That’s what we want, for God to answer our prayers. More than God’s help, though, he pleads for God’s presence. But hasn’t he already stated that he knows God is with him?

I believe David was feeling exactly what we experience when we’re facing desperate situations. There have been many times when my anxiety has been overwhelming, or when I’ve been under strong spiritual attack, when it feels like the world is crashing down on me, that I’ve opened my Bible and prayed these words to God with eyes filled with tears. I know that God is my light, my life, my salvation, and my strength. I know that I am always in his presence.

But at times, my knowledge hasn’t matched up with my feelings. I don’t feel the truth, so in my fear and desperation, I’ve cried out verses 8-9 to God. (Long ago, I underlined and highlighted these verses in my Bible.) The thing is, we worship a God who always knows how we’re feeling and who wants us to come to him in these times (Hebrews 4:15-16). When we pray like this, God will give us confidence in this: “the Lord will hold me close” (Psalm 27:10 NLT).

When we’re afraid, confused, and don’t know where to turn, sometimes the only truth we can rest on is that whatever we don’t know, God knows (Psalm 27:11). God will show you the way. When you have no idea what to do next, the Lord will lead you. Our job at that point is to follow him in faith.

Finally, David exhorts not us, but himself, to apply all that he has written to his current situation. He says to himself in verse 14, “Wait on the LORD; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD!” Don’t run ahead of God, and don’t lag behind him when he leads you. Sometimes fighting means standing your ground in his strength while you wait on him to work. If God tells you to hold on, know that he is going to use that time to work not just on your circumstances but on your heart.

In a difficult time, the way forward is to look to the Lord, with both the faith and the strength he gives you, and wait on him to work. Don’t panic. Don’t give in to fear.

Be brave, and wait patiently on your God.