Psalm 27

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 evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble and fall. 

3 Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident. 

4 One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple.  

David knew conflict/adversity since a boy. At the taunts of Goliath the Philistine he courageously said, "let no man's heart fail because of him, your servant will go and fight with this Philistine." And from that day on he was a fierce man of battle, brutal hand to hand combat where your opponents blood was ever in your presence, think Game of Thrones or Braveheart, it was as intimate as one could get in the taking of another's life. Personally I cannot fathom what that must be like, and to have the amount of enemies he did, yet he writes, "the Lord is my light," because God is truly light in darkness. His presence brings hope in times of despair and fear, He comforts his people when they are being oppressed, and that is why even in the throes of vicious bloodshed, surrounded by those that wished to do him harm could be so at peace because of his enduring and obedient relationship with God. Yes, times were often dark for David, but the Lord, who is ever faithful lit his footsteps, guiding his decisions and path. And then he asks, "whom shall I fear?" Think about that, why should I fear or be anxious about something when I have the Almighty and Holy Creator guiding me? He goes on to say, "The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid." As Paul said, "if God is for us, who can be against us... No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us." 

What is your battle today, yesterday, or in the future? Some of you have endured brutal and devastating losses recently, and your battle may be with grief or even God himself. In a pamphlet on loss someone wrote, "The night my wife died, I felt like punching God in the face." And that's completely alright. God is big enough to take our anger, our heartache, our grief. Maybe you've lost confidence in leadership at some level either here in the army or at work. I hear you. But we are to take a step back and look at the bigger picture, at the greater arc of salvation history. David did not know Jesus as we do, yet he had a glimpse of him through God's work in his life and a promise from God that his kingdom would go on forever. Yes, we will  have our enemies, sickness, injury, broken relationships, death of close loved ones and we will mourn. But, we will not be alone, we may be lonely, but not alone.   

Our faith, our light, our salvation, is in the Lord. "That I," as David says, "may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple." To dwell in the house of the LORD is to dwell in the presence of God, to be ever in prayer, the contemplative life, to be open to his subtle whispers. Companionship on this eternal journey. Dutch priest Henri Nouwen writes, "The word lifts us up and makes us see that our daily, ordinary lives are, in fact, sacred lives that play a necessary role in the fulfillment of God's promises." I am constantly reminded of Gods work in my thoughts and interactions. I pray that these moments, His holy presence will continue to wax throughout my days, that his light would shine brightly in the lives of those I'm sent and drawn to. That I would be strengthened with power through his Spirit in my inner being to love without boundaries. "The great temptation of our lives is to deny our role as chosen people and so allow ourselves to be trapped in the worries of our daily lives." We are constantly being pulled into daily distractions with abandon. It's not that these distractions and circumstances are bad, because they often do require attention, it's that we forget the divine in each moment. Redemption, light that can speak into every facet, every breath of life and beyond. It's not our grasp on things religious per se, but our time in our lives that we turn to God and say, "The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?"