IBS Application for Psalms 27:1-6

“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and foes, it is they stumble and fall. Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident. One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in His temple. 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 lift me high upon a rock. And now my head shall be 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.”

Oh, how I needed to be reminded of this Psalm! I was reminded of this Psalm by listening to a song called “Strength of My Life” by P.O.D. and Matisyahu. It had been a long time since I had listened to anything by P.O.D., so hearing this song again was like listening to it for the first time. It is based heavily upon Psalm 27. The chorus quotes/paraphrases some of this passage: “Strength of my life, whom shall I dread? Even if there would be an army against me, my heart would not fear.” Another part of the song says, “Elevated is my head above my enemy; surround me with the song of glory.”

I’ve felt consistently under attack by the enemy since stepping up to fill the role that God has called me to as a leader. It hasn’t been easy fighting this battle, and I will admit to getting discouraged in the midst of it all. But I was reminded about P.O.D. by a friend here in Guatemala, and I looked up their music again. I listened to each one more intently than I did when I was younger, and when I came to this one, I was struck by it, as if God was speaking to me through it. I of course was reminded of this Psalm, and this is when I decided to do an IBS about this passage. I needed the encouragement of knowing that I need not fear the attacker. God is the “strength of my life” in the midst of all attacks.

What’s more, the Lord makes the enemy to stumble and fall in all of his attempts to destroy me. The devil cannot succeed if I run to the Lord for help. As He hid David in His shelter when trouble came, He does the same for me. He lifts my head up above my enemy, such that I cannot be brought down and lose the fight, because God is fighting it with me; sometimes He fights for me. God is my salvation as He was David’s.


David responded to this love and provision by “singing and making melody to the Lord.” He loved God for His love, grace, and protection. If praise in song is a fitting response to such a great promise of provision and protection from discouragement and assault by the enemy, then I believe that it will be a fitting response for me to have as well. I want to spend some time singing to the Lord to show Him thanks for providing for me in my time of trouble. My application for this IBS will be to spend time each day over the next three days worshipping God in song for His provision and peace in the midst of all attacks by the enemy.

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