Psalm 27:1-14
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 devour my flesh –
my adversaries and foes – They shall stumble and fall.
Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear;
though war rise up against me, yet I will be confident.
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.
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.
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.
Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud, be gracious to me and answer me!
“Come,” my heart says, “seek his face!”
Your face, Lord, do I seek.
Do not hid 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!
If my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will take me up.
Teach me your way, O Lord, and lead me on a level path because of my enemies.
Do not give me up to the will of my adversaries,
for false witnesses have risen against me, and they are breathing out violence.
I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!
Reflection – Patsy Jeffcoat
Wes and I have this thing we do when we are in tense situations. One of us looks at the other and says, “no matter what.” Then, the one spoken to repeats it back. Sometimes the situation we are in is trivial, like an Auburn sporting event. Other times we say it in more meaningful, potentially life-altering situations. Whenever we say it, we are telling each other that even though things don’t look good right now, everything will be okay because we are in it together. We will love each other and be there for each other “no matter what” the outcome is.
I could label this Psalm of David the “no matter what” psalm. The Lord is our light, our salvation, our protector. He hears us and has mercy on us. Verse 10 says that even if our father and mother left us all alone, the Lord would take us up. He will teach us and lead us on a level path. Our hope is in the Lord.
Just as we don’t always get the outcome we wish for when Wes and I say “no matter what” to each other, we don’t always get the answer we want from God when we cry out to him. Even so, we can have faith that God is there for us. We can have faith that God hears and that he will give us comfort and he will walk with us. We can have hope because God is our Lord. Thanks be to God.