Get Thee Behind Me, Fear

Psalm 27

The LORD is my light and my salvation;

Whom shall I fear?

The LORD is the strength of my life;

Of whom shall I be afraid?

The first time I remember reading this verse, I was twelve and at camp. I am not by nature a fearful person. Too trusting, some say. But it really resonated with me, so I memorized it and chose it as my life verse. 

As I’ve grown older, become more aware of the dangers in life, I have developed some fears. I’m sure you can relate. The past few years of pandemic, social and political unrest, and economic insecurity weigh heavily, and learning to rest in the Lord can take time and effort. It can be a daily battle.

Enter Psalm 27:1. He is my light and my salvation. He who? The Creator of the universe. The One who gives life and sustains it. And the One who decides when life ends. No one else decides when my life will be over, so who do I need to fear? Even if the worse possible scenario should take place in my life, He will give me the strength to go through it. So why be afraid? 

But let’s not stop at verse one. It’s just the intro to a much deeper psalm, the tip of the iceberg, so to speak.

(Read the full Psalm 27 here.) 

Imagine your enemies coming for you. They don’t want just a “pound of flesh,” they intend to rip you apart and eat you up. They want you gone without a trace. 

Closer and closer, they race at you. The heat of their wrath burns your neck, their claws rip at your back. You’re done for! Might as well surrender and… 

Suddenly…nothing. No hot, hateful breath on your neck. No claws scratching at your back. You slow your pace. Glance over your shoulder. They’re lying on the ground from a bad fall. Whoo-hoo! Did God trip them? You’re in the clear. But no. Behind them emerges an entire army raging with the same hatred, their eyes red and murderous.

And you fret and take off running calmly praise the Lord and seek the beauty of His face. 

Wait, what? How can you do that? They’re now surrounding you! Why aren’t you running?

The imagery in verse five hails back to the way the army set up camp in King David’s time. The king or general pitched his tent right smack dab in the camp center, with the rest of his army circled around him to keep him safe.

Of course, you’re not afraid! God is your general, so He’s hiding you in His tent (or pavilion in the NKJV version I linked to). All His armies circle around you, and He goes a step further. He sets you up on a high place, one impossible for the enemy to scale to get to you while fighting off God’s army circled around you.

Verse 8 holds the key to how we can have that kind of calm in a fearful situation. “Seek My face,” the Lord says, and the psalmist answers, “Your face, LORD, I will seek.” God protects His own, but we must follow His ways.

The author wraps up with his final thoughts in verse 14:

Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD!

Pretty simple. Trust Him to give you the strength you need, and you have no reason to fear.