The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?

The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? Psalm 27:1a

We begin a new season of blogs looking at the characteristics of God and what that means for each of us. Every blog will begin with ‘The Lord is…

Often we find the Psalmist, who is more often than not King David, throwing himself back on the Lord. He’s reminding himself of who God is. When tested in the crucible of life he knows whom his God is. 

When faced with the darkest of times we so desperately need someone or something to shine a light so that we can begin to walk again. In the pitch black it is nigh on impossible to take your next step not really knowing what you will be stepping into. 

Not only is God light but He is the very source of light. Before the sun shone, God said “let there be light’ and there was light” Genesis 1:3 

John in his first letter proclaims “This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” 1 John 1:5 

In his Gospel he writes, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” John 1:5 

I personally, have known some very dark times especially in the months that followed our son’s life changing accident. God never ceased to be light in those times but darkness covered me like a thick fog and blurred my vision of the God who is light and has no darkness at all. I was very much walking in darkness because of the horrendous situation that was sprung on me. It seemed like the enemy had taken up residence in my life. Maybe your circumstances have made you feel this way as well. 

Spiritual darkness is often equated with those who have no relationship with God in Christ. Spiritual darkness, however, can plague the Christian who knows his God very well. The key is to remind ourselves and with the help of others reminding us, that God is light and He can invade the darkness that we often feel. 

One of the great well know Christians of the last century Dr Martyn Lloyd Jones suffered from what he called ‘spiritual depression’ and wrote a book by the same title. 

One of the cures he believes is the habit of talking to oneself. Psalm 42:5 the psalmist asks himself the question “why are you downcast O my soul”?

In the verse we are looking at today, David is talking to himself and reminding himself that the Lord is his light. Often, speaking the word of God out loud, can begin to lift us out of our dark pit. 

This isn’t denying the situation that we find ourselves in, far from it. Some situations scar us for life and we may never be the same again. But we are reminding ourselves and affirming again who God is and what He can do in the midst of it. 

He is my salvation. Salvation is a big word and in Hebrew it is ‘Yeshuah’. You may recognise the word as its the Hebrew name for Jesus. Salvation means deliverance, health, helping, salvation, save, saving health, welfare. 

We don’t need to fear even during the darkest times. We do, because we are only human. However, we don’t need to, especially when we know the God who is light and is salvation and that salvation isn’t just some obscure thing that may or may not happen, salvation is a person! and His name is Jesus. 

Prayer: Dear Lord, when I am at my worst and feeling downtrodden and forgotten, may I be reminded that you are the light in the storm, you are the deliverer and you are Jesus, the one who came to save, to heal the brokenhearted, to set the captive free. Amen