Day 3: Safe in His dwelling
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? ...For in the day of trouble He will keep me safe in His dwelling; He will hide me in the shelter of His sacred tent and set me high upon a rock (Psalm 27:1, 5)
Our Father, we ponder the words of King Jehoshaphat, Are You not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in Your hand, and no one can withstand You (2 Chronicles 20:6).
And yet we struggle so much with doubt, and fear, and worry, and anxiety. We know who You are, but often we struggle to grasp who You are. We are like Job—our ears have heard of You, but our eyes have not yet truly seen You (Job 42:5).
The prophet Jeremiah tells us, Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him (Jeremiah 17: 7). And the psalmist tells us, Those who know Your name trust in You, for You, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek You (Psalm 9:10).
Help us to truly know You, to trust You, to seek You with a passion like David's—My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, Lord, I will seek (Psalm 27:8). David understood that In Your presence is fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11 - NKJV). He understood that the light of Your presence and the beauty of Your holiness eclipse all fear. So he prayed, I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings (Psalm 61:4).
Our Father, You know our struggles, our discouragements, our disappointments—the difficult days, when overwhelmed we cry—"Troubles without number surround me" (Psalm 40:12). Remind us that we have a shelter in the day of trouble (Psalm 27:5).
Give us true peace, and the confidence that even though armies besiege, even though war breaks out around or against us (Psalm 27:3), You are our light and our salvation. In the midst of all that surrounds us, help us to trust that You will keep us safe, sheltered, hidden—in Your dwelling, in Your sacred tent, high upon Your rock of refuge.
Fill us with the light of Your presence. Teach us to know with certainty, that "You, Lord, are a shield a round me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high" (Psalm 3:3). Teach us the trusting dependence of a child. Turn our whimpers into shouts of joy, our groans into songs and music to the Lord (Psalm 27:6).
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