April 16, 2018
Psalm 27:1, 13, 14
(All Scripture is from the New King James Version unless otherwise indicated)
Waiting on the LORD is mentioned several times in the Bible. And there are a number of qualities that are to added to Waiting – all of them good, and all of them designed to build us up in the LORD! The first quality we will explore is courage. Our featured Scripture is Psalm 27:1, 13, and 14
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?…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.
The last verse of the Psalm, verse 14 identifies the quality of courage. But the whole psalm concerns courage! Just consider what is mentioned in these three verses:
• verse 1 – “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?” I see here two things of which people are afraid:
✞ They are afraid of darkness!
▸ It is not only children who are afraid of darkness. Some adults are too. I remember walking along a dark road in the country late one evening. I heard some wildlife nearby in the woods. I turned around and came home! The noises, of which I could not identify, scared me!
The Psalm mentions light. I also need light. My personality is such that I have battled clinical depression all my adult life. I am especially affected in the winters of Pennsylvania when the days are short and the nights long! I am mentally at my best in Spring, Summer, and Fall. There are a lot of people who have ‘light deprivation sensitivity.’
▸ Darkness is one of the characteristics of Hell! Three times in Matthew – 8:12, 22:13, and 25:30 – the Lord Jesus warned unbelievers that they were in danger of being “…cast out into outer darkness…”! One of the sufferings in Hell is forever being in eternal and complete darkness! (See also II Peter 2:4; Jude 1:13).
▸ Satan is called in II Corinthians 4:4, “…the god of this world…” (see Luke 4:5, 6). His kingdom of humankind godless societies, plus his rule over the corrupt spiritual realm – “…principalities…powers…the rulers of the darkness of this age…[and] spiritual hosts of wickedness in high places…” – is called “…the power of darkness…” in Luke 22:53 and Colossians 1:13. When we accept Jesus as our Savior, we are “…delivered …from the power of darkness and translated…into the kingdom of the Son of His love.” (Colossians 1:13 – see I Peter 2:9).
▸ Jesus is “…the Light of the world.” (John 8:12; 9:5 – see also John 1:7-9; 3:19). As He said in John 8:12, “He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” (see John 11:9, 10; I John 1:7)
✞ They are afraid of eternity! – The opposite of salvation mentioned in verse 1 above is damnation! If we are not saved by trusting in the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ on our behalf, according to John 3:36 and 5:24, we are living under God’s wrath, and condemnation! ‘Living’ did I say? The Apostle Paul, writing to the Ephesus Christians, says in Ephesians 2:1, “And you He made alive who were dead in trespasses and sins.” You may be alive physically, but without Christ, you are spiritually dead! Unsaved one, open your heart to Jesus – Please!
▸ If someone has thought seriously about eternity (and if that one is truthful about his or her thinking), I have found that this one is like a lot of people who are scared when they don’t have the assurance of heaven and eternal life!
▸ It is tragic that most only have a ‘hope so’ view of eternity – “I hope I will go to heaven.” If that is your case, John wrote this for you – I John 5:11 through 13:
…this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is
in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son
of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believe
in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal
life….
• Courage comes from having the strength to face whatever comes! Strength is mentioned twice in our featured Scripture:
✞ Psalm 27:1 – “The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? ”
▸ The writer of Hebrews quotes Psalm 118:6 in Hebrews 13:6: “The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me? ” Nothing! Nor can anyone or anything ever separate us from the love of Christ ! (See Romans 8:31-39).
▸ Jesus, in Luke 12:5 tells us, “I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!” We are told several times in the Bible to fear God (see Deuteronomy 13:4; Psalm 22:23; Ecclesiastes 12:13; Matthew 10:28; II Peter 2:17; Revelation 14:7). Fearing God is holding Him is reverence and awe, knowing that He is utterly supreme and can do anything He decides! Thank God He wants all to be reconciled to Him! And He has made the way – the only way (see John 14:6) through the blood of His Son Jesus!
✞ Psalm 27:14 – “Wait on the LORD…and He shall strengthen your heart.” To the Old Testament Jew, the heart is the seat of the mind and soul of man! To have God strengthen your heart is to acquire all you need to face everything in life!
✞ This reminds me of what it says in Psalm 119:32: “I will run in the way of Your commandments, for You shall enlarge (strengthen) my heart.” May we all ask God for a large heart toward Him!
We will finish Waiting For Courage on Wednesday.