The LORD is my light and my salvation—
Psalm 27:1-3 NIV
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?
When the wicked advance against me
to devour me,
it is my enemies and my foes
who will stumble and fall.
Though an army besiege me,
my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
even then I will be confident.
What an amazing declaration of confidence this is. David was a warrior. And he knew what it was to face an enemy. Enemies that were sometimes much stronger than he was. Even as a shepherd with a sling and five stones facing the fully armed and battle-tested giant, Goliath. David was confident that whatever he faced, God would deliver him. And he did! God was David’s stronghold. His life was in the Lord’s keeping, a very secure place to be.
This is very reminiscent of Paul in 2 Timothy 1:12 where he says “I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day.” We can entrust our lives to the Lord’s keeping and have the same confidence that David and Paul had. That he will guard and protect what we have given to him until the day we stand before him in Paradise.
That does not mean that I will not face trials and challenging times in this life. I most assuredly will be challenged, especially because I stand with the Lord, and against this world and its ways. But I can face it all, even death, because I know that the Lord is guarding what is really important. I can mirror David’s declaration of confidence, that so long as I live in this flesh, he will keep me in his arms. And he will use whatever happens to me for my good (Rom. 8:28).
Gotcha! Well like you said, “The Lord helps you to understand what you need to”. But thank you for that question give me something to look into. Be bless
Thanks. You as well.
Numbers chapter 12. Why was Miriam the only one punished and not Aaron when they both sinned equally? Why did Lott offer his innocent young daughters to the mob of perverted men instead of assuming the angels of God could defend themselves? Do you see my point?
I do believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God. But it was written by, and to, a culture that is quite different than mine. And that at times makes it confusing to me. There are indeed a great many events in the Bible, especially the Old Testament, that I have no explanation for. Sometimes they are things God did, or at least was thought to do. And other times it is the actions of the people themselves without any prompting from God. I am sure they all made sense to those who lived then and who wrote it all down. That I fail to grasp them is, I suspect, largely because I live in an entirely different culture with a different mindset.
Hello, Ed a few words of encouragement. God says His words are the same yesterday, today & forever more. Although, time has changed God hasn’t. He also says satan is the author of confusion & comes to kill, steal & destroy. If you trust God WHOLEHEARTEDLY He will give you understanding & revelation. The WHOLE Bible was inspired by God & this week I learned & it hit me that the Lord uses the wicked as a chastening rod. In other words, evildoers do not have free reign, but God puts them to work to discipline his own and accomplish his purposes for them (Ps. 94:12–13). He will not allow the wicked to escape justice (Ps 94:13–15).
Believers today can also find comfort in knowing that our God uses the wicked to fulfill his plans. If we receive his discipline, we will grow spiritually and become more faithful followers of the living God.
I pray that God will give you guidance & understanding of His word. And that you seek Him diligently so you can understand. Hope this helps some
The Lord does help me to understand what I need to. But there are some parts of the Scripture that are a mystery to us without knowing the lost cultural setting. 1 Corinthians 15:29 is an example of that. We don’t know what Paul was talking about concerning baptism for the dead. He and his initial audience knew. But it is lost to us today.