This devotion was written for Covenant Presbyterian Church’s (Staunton, VA) Advent-Christmas-Epiphany devotional series.
Psalm 27 (NRSV)
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold[a] of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When evildoers assail me
to devour my flesh—
my adversaries and foes—
they shall stumble and fall.
3 Though an army encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear;
though war rise up against me,
yet I will be confident.
4 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.
5 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.
6 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.
7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud,
be gracious to me and answer me!
8 “Come,” my heart says, “seek his face!”
Your face, Lord, do I seek.
9 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!
10 If my father and mother forsake me,
the Lord will take me up.
11 Teach me your way, O Lord,
and lead me on a level path
because of my enemies.
12 Do not give me up to the will of my adversaries,
for false witnesses have risen against me,
and they are breathing out violence.
13 I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living.
14 Wait for the Lord;
be strong, and let your heart take courage;
wait for the Lord!
The psalmist prays these words with such confidence and trust in the Lord. She does not live her life frozen by fear because she knows that God will be her shelter and protect her from enemies, war, and even her own parents, should they forsake her. I try my best to remember that God will always take care of me, but it is a truth that is easier to recite than to truly believe.
I wonder what the psalmist has experienced to embrace such confidence in God. She lived on the same earth that we live on today. Like all of us have, it’s clear that she faced some sort of adversity in her life. She has seen how God guarded her through those hardships and continues to hold her in God’s love and she uses that witness as motivation to remain strong, letting her heart take courage, and waiting for the Lord.
We know that the season of Advent was all about preparation and waiting for the arrival of Jesus. We also know that we will continue to wait for God – for God’s kingdom fully come on earth as it is in heaven. But we must recall that the psalmist waited without being controlled by fear. She waited with expectancy. She waited in prayer, in song, and in action. I hope that her faith can be encouraging for us in this new year.
May we gain strength from the psalmist’s words of trust to wait with intentionality. Let us listen to our hearts when they say, “Seek God’s face!”
Consider…
- What has God done for you?
- What will you do as you wait for God?
Rev. Natalie Wolf 