Psalm 27: 1-14
by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
January 26, 2020
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?
When evildoers assail me
to devour my flesh—
my adversaries and foes—
they shall stumble and fall.
Though an army encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear;
though war rise up against me,
yet I will be confident.
One thing I asked of the Lord,
that will I seek after:
to live in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to behold the beauty of the Lord,
and to inquire in his temple.
For he will hide me in his shelter
in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
he will set me high on a rock.
Now my head is lifted up
above my enemies all around me,
and I will offer in his tent
sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make melody to the Lord.
Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud,
be gracious to me and answer me!
‘Come,’ my heart says, ‘seek his face!’
Your face, Lord, do I seek.
Do not hide your face from me.
Do not turn your servant away in anger,
you who have been my help.
Do not cast me off, do not forsake me,
O God of my salvation!
If my father and mother forsake me,
the Lord will take me up.
Teach me your way, O Lord,
and lead me on a level path
because of my enemies.
Do not give me up to the will of my adversaries,
for false witnesses have risen against me,
and they are breathing out violence.
I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord;
be strong, and let your heart take courage;
wait for the Lord! - Psalm 27: 1-14
It amazes me how alive God’s Word is. Holy Spirit has a unique way of meeting us where we are in the Scriptures. When we engage the biblical text and wonder what it might be saying to us on any given day, God’s Spirit opens a door for us to come and take a walk with God like a close friend.
Our psalm today immediately took me back to a particular season of ministry.
I was working with a group of eighth grade youth during confirmation. It was a five-month commitment for them to reflect on the baptismal vows that their parents and congregation took on their behalf. Together we studied what we believe about God, Jesus, Holy Spirit, the Sacraments, the church, prayer, and putting our faith into action.
Near the end of confirmation, the youth write a statement of personal belief. The youth share their statements with the elders on session before they claim the gift of faith as their own in worship. And one statement continues to stand out in my mind:
I believe that there is one God, existing in three people, the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. I believe I should pray with God to give thanks and pray for others. I trust in him with my life. I have been baptized in his name and I belong to him, and with that I am proud. As I grow in knowledge, I am led to do the good things that God intends for me.
Deep words from a youth. And yet there is one sentence that gives me pause: I trust in him with my life.
The psalmist conveys the same poignant statement in our text today. He trusts God with his life. The psalmist has been weighed down with life’s difficulties. Anxiety and uncertainty have interrupted his life with inner chaos. People are talking and their words are bringing hurt like daggers. And yet the psalmist remains confident in God’s amazing grace.
Rev. MaryAnn McKibben Dana is a colleague in ministry. She is also a writer for Feasting on the Word commentary. She shares this insight on today’s text:
In the midst of confident assurances, the psalmist’s confident language is hard won. The psalmist has experienced real hardship and trusts God in spite of or perhaps because of those difficulties. This psalm strikes an authentic balance between God’s goodness and the gritty reality of our lives [1].
Have you ever met someone and said, “I want faith like that?” How do we find confidence like that youth? How do we find confidence like the psalmist? How do we find that authentic balance between God’s goodness and the gritty reality of life?
For many us the journey of faith begins with looking for God’s presence.
Maybe as a child your parent or grandparent brought you to church with the desire to pass on a legacy of faith. Your family member felt the Spirit’s nudge to plant the seeds of faith in you with the hope that they would take root and ground you in God’s love, goodness, and direction.
Sometimes it is the child or youth who asks “Please take me to church.” That child saw their friends and neighbors going to worship and they want to go too and see what it is all about. What makes them want to keep walking through that front door?. If it is food I want some. If it is love then I need some.
Maybe as an adult you discovered something is missing in your life and nothing seems to fill the void. Most of us long to have a life with meaning, purpose, and authentic relationships, therefore seeking God’s face in the sanctuary seems like a good start.
Communal worship is important, but it is not the only way we encounter God.
No matter how we begin seeking the light of God’s face, the gift of faith desires to take us on a journey. We are invited to walk and talk with God about the great joys and the deepest challenges of life. The Maker of heaven and earth created you and me to live in relationship with God and one another.
The God who calls you by name and claims you as God’s beloved child desires nothing more than for you to trust the Lord with your life. These days trust is hard won. Trust is not easily given. But God’s thoughts are not our thoughts and God’s ways are not our ways. God alone is trustworthy. And just like Paul, I am confident of this - the One who began a good work among you will bring it to completion on the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6).
The life of faith is not easy. Having faith in God does not make our problems go away. But living without faith is that much harder. I remember the day years ago when I told God I did not need him anymore. I got this. And do you know what I got? I got nothing. Nothing but a dead end.
So take courage by living with grit and grace.
Take courage and seek Gods’ face (Psalm 27:8). Any solid relationship requires good communication, respect, and face time. Make it a priority to spend some quality time with God. Talk with God on that long drive. Take a walk with God as your spiritual companion. Sit next to an empty chair like you are talking with an old friend.
And then give God the gritty parts of your life. Name what you are afraid of. Tell God about the challenges that are overwhelming your heart and mind. Give it to God and then watch God guide you to take the next right step. God may not take away that problem, but God will certainly show you how to walk through the fire and not get burned. The more we trust God the more we will know that the gritty reality of life will never be more powerful than the Lord of our light and salvation!
Take courage by having a teachable spirit (Psalm 27:11). The Bible tells us that “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness so that everyone who belongs to God maybe proficient, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3: 16-17).
Get in God’s Word and let Christ our Teacher lead the way. God’s Word will always lead you and I on a level path. And that path is the same one our spiritual ancestors walked. Scripture tells us the story of God’s faithfulness throughout all humanity.
Take courage from the support of others. Everyone needs a tribe – a place where you find belonging, connection, and share the real grit of life. As your pastor, my hope is that all who walk through our doors may know THIS community of faith as your tribe. The Holy Spirit gathers us together to encourage one another and build up each other as the body of Christ (1 Thessalonians 5:11).
The church is not to be a stained glass masquerade, where we show up and our face says everything is ok. Here we share what is not right and where we are struggling. Here we ask one another for prayer and we share in whom we have hope.
But the Holy Spirit also sends us out into this beautiful yet broken world to help others find ways to live with grit and grace.
That means when the body of Christ is scattered, we come alongside that neighbor in real physical need and in real and tangible ways we embody the good news that God has not forsaken them.
We also come alongside our neighbors who need nothing but who are spiritually hungry. I am learning through some here that we are to come alongside our neighbors and ask what they are looking for. They may not find a connection to this church, but we can certainly be a support to help them look for God’s presence and find an authentic faith community.
God’s grace takes the grit of our lives and works through it to refine our faith and trust in God alone. Our choir embodied this good news earlier this morning with that beautiful anthem, Amazing Grace – Through many dangers, toils, and snares I have already come / Tis grace has brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.
However gritty your life might be, may grace lead you home.
In the name of God our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. Amen.
Sources Referenced:
[1] Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010), p. 274.
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