All Weekly Sharpening Posts

February 28, 2022

Whom Shall I Fear?

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 has been a “go-to” verse for years.  When fear creeps into my life, I need the reminder of who the Lord is compared to that fear: my light, salvation and stronghold.  Given that, whom should I fear?  Of whom should I be afraid?  This is a confidence-building verse.

This morning I didn’t stop reading at verse one and immediately thought of the Ukrainians and their bold stand against the Russian army as I read verses 2-3.

²When 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.

Men, the world is clearly in chaos.  We can’t let a spirit of fear erode our confidence in the Lord.  However, this will happen if we take our eyes off Him and fail to see current events through His sovereignty and providence.

King David, the author of this Psalm, was no stranger to war.  He’s not speaking metaphorically or using hyperbole.

We’re a safe 5,640 miles away from the war in Ukraine.  How are our Ukrainian brothers and sisters in Christ fairing as they take up arms to defend their homeland?  Do they have the same confidence that David had?  I can’t help but wonder how I would respond if this war was in my backyard.

There is little we can do from 5,640 miles away, but we can certainly pray.  Let’s pray that Ukrainians will know and experience the hope and confidence in the Lord that these three verses bring as they engage in a war they did not want.

Let’s pray that their enemy stumbles and falls.

Let’s pray that people worldwide will place their faith in Jesus.

Let’s pray for peace.