You can find more about my weekly Bible readings HERE.
This week I am focusing on Psalm 27 (Monday, July 13 – Sunday July 19)

1. If all scripture is God-breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16-17), then how is THIS scripture teaching me? rebuking me? correcting me? training me?

Teach: explaining the way things are, what is true about God, me, life, reality, sin, God’s will, the world, etc!
Rebuke: point out where I am falling short, messing up, going against God’s will, sinning!
Correct: challenge and inspire to change, show me what I should do, what steps I should take!
Train: encourage and support me with strength/wisdom to follow through, to make changes, to obey!

I have not heard what the Lord is saying to me in this Psalm if I cannot answer these questions: how is the Lord teaching me? rebuking me? correcting me? training me?

2. Psalm 27 — Of David.

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?
2 When the wicked advance against me to devour me, it is my enemies and my foes who will stumble and fall.
3 Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident.
4 One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.
5 For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock.
6 Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the Lord.
7 Hear my voice when I call, Lord; be merciful to me and answer me.
8 My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, Lord, I will seek.
9 Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper. Do not reject me or forsake me, God my Savior.
10 Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me.
11 Teach me your way, Lord; lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors.
12 Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, spouting malicious accusations.
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.

3. David is under attack. He is battling fear and despair. He is fighting it by declaring his confidence in God, even though he doesn’t feel it yet. Deep inside he feels his heart compelling him to reach out to God for mercy, for help, for strength, for protection. His deepest desire is to be in God’s presence so that his fears will fade away. This is what he is praying for, this is what he is waiting for. He chooses to stay confident in the Lord, and says so out loud… to reinforce his troubled spirit with hope.

4. I am reminded of Jesus, when all hell breaks lose against Him, and when His closest friends desert Him. “A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.” (John 16:32) Jesus found His strength in the presence of God, like David did, like we can.

5. I am also reminded how Jesus experienced being totally forsaken by God, in a way that we never will. “Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”) (Matthew 27:46). David talks about not being forsaken by God, even if his parents do forsake him. Yet here Jesus is forsaken by God. I believe that Jesus went through the curse of being forsaken by God, so that we will never have to. It is because of Jesus that David can cling to the hope of being received by the Lord, no matter what.

6. I sense the main theme of this psalm is handling fear. Fear and anxiety are huge issues for many people. I believe that we experience fear and anxiety because we live in this sin-messed world. Having collectively lost our connection to God, we are lost and desperate and misguided and foolish. War, violence, sickness, injustice, abuse, deception, lust, greed, these things rage and boil in our hearts, causing us to varying degrees to hurt and hinder others. People are messed up, their own hearts are both hurting and hurtful. People can be mean. As long as our world remains disconnected from God and poisoned by the spirit of sin, we will all face reasons for fear and anxiety. The solution – for me personally and for everyone – is to be reconnected to God, to cling to Him and allow Him to lead us in a straight path. “My heart says of You, ‘Seek His face!’. Your face, Lord, I will seek.” (Psalm 27:8)

7. Where is the gentle rebuke for me? My fears seem trivial compared to what others face. And yet I allow little fears to unsettle me, the silly what ifs that go through my mind and keep me from doing what I sense You want me to do. Lord, I sense that I am being held back by anxious feelings, missing out on the great things You want to do in and through me.

8. I also feel a gentle rebuke in the words of v.4, “One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.” Is this the only thing I am seeking? Am I worried and troubled by many secondary things (like Martha), and missing out on the one thing that is needed (like Mary)? “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one.[a] Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:41-42)

9. I have decided to follow Jesus. But the Enemy is not happy with my decision, so he does what he can to hinder me with fear. This psalm shows the battle that Jesus followers face when following through on their commitments. Even though Jesus is Lord, sin or forgiven, Satan is defeated, and I am restored as God’s child, the Enemy uses deception and fear tactics to keep me from living in light of this victory and hope. If he can get me to take my eyes off Jesus, he can get me to sink.

10. Look at how Satan attempted to bring down Jesus. Not only through the temptations in the desert, but also opposition from the religious leaders, accusation and slander, mobs threatening to stone him to death, his own family turning on Him and calling Him insane. His own disciples misunderstanding His message, trying to get Him to turn from God’s path, and abandoning Him at His moment of deepest crisis. Through it all, Jesus keeps His eyes on God: He waits for God to pull Him through. Do I think that Satan will do any less to me, to keep me from following Jesus in the same path?

11. If I am going to beat the devil, I need to resist him and his lies, I need to refuse to give in to his scare tactics. I need to SHOUT my confidence at Him, whether I feel it or not. I need to repeat again and again and again, “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?” (Psalm 27:1) This is spiritual warfare. This is taking up the shield of faith to protect me from the fiery darts of the Enemy. This is taking up the sword of truth and slaying the messengers of fear and deception. This is overcoming the lie with the truth.

12. “That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.” (v.4) For Jews, the temple represented God’s presence with them. Temples, sanctuaries, shrines, churches, sacred spaces, all of these in one way or another suggest God is there in a special way. Jesus came to show us that God is with us always, everywhere. He became human, to show us the special connection God has with humans. His Spirit is IN us, so that we are God’s temples. I do not need to go to a sacred building or space to “dwell in the presence of the Lord all the days of my life” because He is with and in me “all the days of my life!” I am a portable temple, a traveling sanctuary; wherever I am God is. Here in the coffee shop, I am in the “house of the Lord” because I am the “house of the Lord”.

13. “My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, Lord, I will seek.” (v.8) Face to face time with the Lord is close, personal, conversational time. To seek His face is to make eye contact with Him, to be with Him and relate to Him in a close, personal way. Often I feel something inside of me that compels me to talk to Him, to be with Him. That is the Spirit of Jesus, urging me to find my strength, hope, help, etc. in Him. It is like the song “What A Friend We Have In Jesus” says:

What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer!
Oh, what peace we often forfeit,
Oh, what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer!

Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged—
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful,
Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness;
Take it to the Lord in prayer.

Are we weak and heavy-laden,
Cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge—
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?
Take it to the Lord in prayer!
In His arms He’ll take and shield thee,
Thou wilt find a solace there.

Blessed Savior, Thou hast promised
Thou wilt all our burdens bear;
May we ever, Lord, be bringing
All to Thee in earnest prayer.
Soon in glory bright, unclouded,
There will be no need for prayer—
Rapture, praise, and endless worship
Will be our sweet portion there.

Through this Psalm, the Spirit is encouraging me to seek His face. Your face Lord I will seek!

14. David was taken from his small world of shepherding, and anointed to serve in God’s kingdom dream. To work for a world where everyone matters, where the humbled are lifted up and the proud are brought down, so they all stand equally before God. Where each receives an inheritance, and where justice prevails, and where God, the people, and the land all enjoy God’s creation blessing. Where all people are blessed to be a blessing, so that everyone is both blessing and blessed. This was David’s kingdom purpose, anointed by God to work toward this world. This is why he is under attack. This is why he is assaulted by fears. The Enemy of his soul (and ours) is doing EVERYTHING he can to crush the dream, silence the dreamers, and keep God’s anointed from fulfilling their purpose. David is under attack, but he refuses to quit.

15. I am anointed, you are anointed. We are created and called by God to work for the same kingdom dream. Therefore we are also under attack. Have no doubt about this, Satan is gathering armies against you. Satan has planted a bullseye on your chest. He does not want you to succeed. He knows that if you stay focused on God, if you keep seeking the Lord, then you will stand firm and succeed. So somehow, anyhow, he will do what he can to intimate and demobilize us. Every distraction and discouragement and doubt is a ‘fiery dart’ of the Enemy, looking to bring us down. Like David in this Psalm, like Jesus through His life, we need to resist him, refuse him, stand up to him. We do this by seeking His face, by looking to Him and waiting for Him. And by stating LOUD AND CLEAR that Satan’s lies are lies, he cannot win! Like Gandalf boldly yelling at the Balrog, ‘You can not pass!!!’

16. In this world, marked with the cross of Jesus, we have a target printed on our chest. He does not want you to follow through on your commitment to Jesus and God’s kingdom dream. He does not want you to realize your kingdom identity and purpose. He does not want you to realize that you are stronger than him in Christ. And so he attacks us, does whatever he can to beat us. We are like Hal, with a bummer of a birthmark. But unlike Hal, we are not defenseless. We are armed with the Spirit of God. We can resist the bullets that come at us with the shield of faith and the sword of the Spirit. The cross may be a target, but more than that it is a weapon. It is our guarantee than not even suffering and death can beat us. We shall overcome!

17. Don’t let Satan beat you. Rise up against him and assault him with words of faith. Pray it, say it, shout it out loud. Don’t let Satan tread on you, rise up and trample on him with the truth of Jesus Christ. I will wait, I will be strong, I will take heart, I will trust in the Lord!!!

18. When I am surrounded… pray! When I am afraid… pray! When I am distracted… pray! When I am discouraged… pray! When I am tempted… pray! When I am ready to quit… pray! When I am under attack… pray! When I am being abandoned… pray! When I am being falsely accused… pray! When people I trusted let me down… pray! Even when my family turns on me… pray! Listen to your heart as it urges you to pray. Pray and then wait. Be strong, take heart, and wait. The Lord will fulfill His good purpose in and through you. He will surround you, He will protect you, He will use you, He will bring about His kingdom blessing through you!