Confidence for the storms

During a storm in life, people often look back to the calm moments before everything turned chaotic. It is strange to look back on a moment of tranquility when you had no idea what was about to take place. 

Psalm 27 reflects that experience. In the first half of the Psalm, David appears to be filled with faith and peace. Then, in the second half, there is more than a hint of fear in his words.  Where other psalms begin with fear and end with faith, this psalm seems to reverse that pattern.

However, it may be helpful to see the psalm differently, not as part 1 followed by part 2, but as an outer layer and an inner layer. 

In the outer layer, David seems gripped by the reality of God’s greatness. He knows that God is greater than any enemy.  He has seen it in the past, and he has confidence for the future. “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?” (v 1)

He begins the psalm stating that God is the refuge of his heart (translated “life”), and his heart will not fear, even in the face of enemies, armies, and wars!  (Psalm 27:1-3) 

Then at the conclusion of the psalm, he declares confidence in his future experience of the goodness of God and calls on others to strengthen their hearts by waiting for the LORD.  (Psalm 27:13-14)

We live in tumultuous times.  Whether we are in an active war zone or not, it seems that most of us are living in countries where tensions are running high.  How can we have confidence in the Lord, strengthening our hearts as we wait for Him? 

Perhaps it is not enough to know that our God is bigger than our enemies, although that is undoubtedly true. Perhaps we should examine what happens in the inner layer of this psalm.

In verse 4, David describes his devotional determination to dwell in the house of the LORD and gaze upon the beauty of the LORD.  It is in the security of God’s presence that he can get to know God for who He is. 

To be close to God is to be hidden in God’s shelter, concealed in His tent, lifted on a rock.  The word translated as “shelter” carries the sense of a lion’s lair.  Is there anywhere safer, presuming the Lion is good and is for you?

The secret to confidence in God is to meet God in the secret place. To gaze upon Him. To know Him. 

Jonathan Edwards wrote of Christ that He “has infinite loveliness to win and draw our love.” He went on to say that the angels in heaven, who can look on His face all the time, have never run out of reason to praise Him, even to this day. How lovely He must be!  And so it is that we too can draw near to God in the person of Christ, and day after day, gaze upon the face of our God. 

In fact, in troubled and tumultuous times, our people need us to do just that. If we are going to lead our families, our ministries, our churches, then we need to be spending time hiding in God’s presence, gazing on and getting to know the “light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:6)

Not only does David declare that he will seek God’s face, but God invites him to do so. It is a bit like playing hide and seek with a small child.  Hide and seek is a classic children’s game. 

One person counts to 100, while the other players hide. Then the seeker goes hunting for the hidden. It can be frustrating if the players are too creative. But when you play the game with a toddler, it can be so much fun. They want to be found! 

All you need to do is say out loud what you are thinking, “I am thinking she might be behind the armchair?”  And a little voice will giggle behind the curtain.  “Is she behind the television?”  And a little voice will say, “No!”  It is all about the moment of discovery, the unbridled joy when two faces meet.

“Seek my face,” God says.  And as leaders of God’s people, may the cry of our hearts be, “Your face, O LORD, do I seek.”  We need to gaze on the beauty of His character to have confidence in His strength. 

The greatest one is for us, so let’s not hold back. Draw near, gaze, and grow in confidence. Fearful times will come, but faith-filled leaders will emerge from God’s presence confident and ready.

Peter Mead is mentor at Cor Deo and author of several books. He blogs at Biblical Preaching.