Welcome to another day the Lord has made that we should rejoice and be glad in. (Psalms 118:24)

After writing yesterday’s post, I heard today’s song, which is based on today’s scripture, loop in my mind. Today we’ll look at finding courage from the LORD’s presence.

Today’s scripture, Psalms 27:1 (NKJV), declares…
[1] 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?

Consider…
AI Overview says, today’s scripture is a powerful declaration of faith from King David, that expresses fearless trust in God as the source of guidance (light), deliverance (salvation), and protection (stronghold), assuring that no enemy or danger can overcome him because of God’s presence.

One of the most comforting, and encouraging decorations repeated throughout the Psalms is, ‘The LORD is my…’! That’s because it acknowledges with Mississippi Mass Choir that…

God is
God is my everything
God is
God is my everything
He’s my joy
He’s my joy in sorrow
He’s my hope
He’s my hope for tomorrow
He’s my rock
He’s my rock in a weary land
A shelter
My shelter in the time storm
God is
God is
God is
God is
My everything

For example, Psalms 23:1 (NKJV)
declares…
[1] The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

That simple declaration says there’s no need to worry about anything because the LORD will take care of everything.

That’s the same thing Jesus emphasizes in Matthew 6:31-33 (NKJV)…
[31] “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ [32] For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. [33] But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

Jesus’ words just hit play on Tamela Mann testifying…

God provides, so why do I worry about my life
When you come to my rescue a thousand times
Every other voice it is a lie
God provides

God provides
In ways I can’t explain and can’t deny
The little that I have He multiplies
Just when I feel He won’t show up on time
God provides

He’ll come through
When the clouds of doubt rain down on you
And test everything you thought you knew
Now you finally see what God can do, for you

So tonight
Close your eyes
There’s no more need to fight
Watch God provide

God provides
It’s hard to say when there’s no food to eat
Or what you see feels all that life will be
And will this be another year of misery, for me
But my faith, can’t survive on just things I see
And my feelings can’t control my destiny
See God I only want what you believe, for me

So tonight
Close your eyes
There’s no more need to fight, ooh
Watch God provide

It’s amazing how God inspires musically gifted people to use His gifts to serve us so well, by reminding us who He is and what He does and what we should do accordingly.

For example, William Murphy lyrically declares with today’s verse…

The Lord is my light and salvation
Whom shall I fear? Whom shall I be afraid?
The Lord is my light and salvation
Whom shall I fear? Yeah, whom shall I be afraid?

And adds his response is, and ours should be…
I will wait on You
I will wait on You, You, yes
I will trust in You
I will trust in You

Lamentations 3:25-26 (NKJV) affirms…
[25] The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, To the soul who seeks Him. [26] It is good that one should hope and wait quietly For the salvation of the Lord.

That’s reminds me of the LORD:s instructions to the Children of Israel at the crossroads of their deliverance and destruction. With the Red Sea in front of them and the enemy Egyptian’s behind them, we read in Exodus 14:13-14 (NLT)…
[13] But Moses told the people, “Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the LORD rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today will never be seen again. [14] The LORD himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.”

Like we’re told to do in case of emergency, Moses said stay calm, the First Responder has got this.

Interestingly after Moses encouraging words, we read in Exodus 14:15-16 NLT
[15] Then the LORD said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the people to get moving! [16] Pick up your staff and raise your hand over the sea. Divide the water so the Israelites can walk through the middle of the sea on dry ground.

The Holy Spirit used this pivotal moment in the lives of His chosen people to make a couple key points in our faith journey…

• Stay calm
• Stop crying
• Keep moving
• Do what He says

When I found that bonus passage, I was actually looking for Exodus 14:19-20 (NKJV), to illustrate the LORD being the light and salvation. It says…
[19] And the Angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them. [20] So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. Thus it was a cloud and darkness to the one, and it gave light by night to the other, so that the one did not come near the other all that night.

I love what this reveals about God’s presence in dire situations, He both HIDES and GUIDES us at the same time.

That immediately sent my mind to Colossians 3:3-4 (NLT), which testifies…
[3] For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. [4] And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.

The Holy Spirit just air dropped, when we find ourselves trapped by the enemy, we can declare with Psalms 57:1-3 (NLT)…
[1] Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy! I look to you for protection. I will hide beneath the shadow of your wings until the danger passes by. [2] I cry out to God Most High, to God who will fulfill his purpose for me. [3] He will send help from heaven to rescue me, disgracing those who hound me. My God will send forth his unfailing love and faithfulness.

A thought just crossed mind, most of us have a ‘fight or flight’ mentality towards danger, but God wants us to have a ‘wait and see’ what He will do faith.

You see the Holy Spirit inspired the Psalmist to declare in Psalms 118:6 (NKJV)…
[6] The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?

God is emphasizing that He doesn’t want us to fear anyone or anything but Him. Proverbs 19:23 (NLT) explains…
[23] Fear of the LORD leads to life, bringing security and protection from harm.

The Holy Spirit is telling me to differentiate fearing people or things from fearing God.

Oxford Languages defines fear as…

• an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat.
• regard (God) with reverence and awe.

The Holy Spirit used these two definitions to point out fear is a choice of what/who we choose to believe.

That reminds me of the ten spies, which is a good illustration of the fear choices we make all of the time…

• Numbers 13:27-28, 31-33 (NLT) was the fear others response…[27] This was their report to Moses: “We entered the land you sent us to explore, and it is indeed a bountiful country—a land flowing with milk and honey. Here is the kind of fruit it produces. [28] But the people living there are powerful, and their towns are large and fortified. We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak! [31] But the other men who had explored the land with him disagreed. “We can’t go up against them! They are stronger than we are!” [32] So they spread this bad report about the land among the Israelites: “The land we traveled through and explored will devour anyone who goes to live there. All the people we saw were huge. [33] We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak. Next to them we felt like grasshoppers, and that’s what they thought, too!”
• Whereas Numbers 13:30 (NLT) was the revertnce God by trusting and believing in Him in awe response…[30] But Caleb tried to quiet the people as they stood before Moses. “Let’s go at once to take the land,” he said. “We can certainly conquer it!”

A couple of observations that apply to our fear responses too…

• Focusing on personal problems causes you to overlook God’s promises
• Focusing on God’s promises helps you look over personal problems

You see problems exist, Jesus told us they would (John 16:33), but it’s a matter of focus that dictates how we navigate through them.

Thus, when we focus on God being our…

• light (guide),
• salvation (deliverer)
• strength (protector)

…we can move forward courageously, with the God who hides, guides, delivers and protects us to His promised victory.

That reminds me of II Chronicles 20:15-17 (NLT), where the Spirit of the LORD spoke through a man to a fearful people facing an unwinnable fight…
[15] He said, “Listen, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Listen, King Jehoshaphat! This is what the LORD says: Do not be afraid! Don’t be discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. [16] Tomorrow, march out against them. You will find them coming up through the ascent of Ziz at the end of the valley that opens into the wilderness of Jeruel. [17] But you will not even need to fight. Take your positions; then stand still and watch the LORD’s victory. He is with you, O people of Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid or discouraged. Go out against them tomorrow, for the LORD is with you!”

That same message is what the LORD says to us in every unwinnable or untenable situation, “Do not be afraid! Don’t be discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.”

If you want an updated version of God’s protection, let me direct you to Romans 8:31 (NKJV)…
[31] What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

That declaration just triggered two of my favorite lyrics from Elevation Worship…

Blessed Assurance, Jesus is mine
He’s been my fourth man in the fire, time after time

You see today’s verse, and all other declarations that ‘the LORD is my…’, reminds us that God is with us everywhere always!

That’s the encouragement I was assigned to share today. Rather than than the typical ‘fight or flight’ response to danger, let’s declare ‘the LORD is my…’, and ‘Wait on’ and ‘Trust in’ Him to…

• Hide (darkness to our enemy)
• Guide (light to our destiny)
• Save (make a way out of no way)
• Strengthen (see us safely through)

Today’s song is…
The Lord Is My Light

Blessings 4HG (1 Corinthians 10:31)