The Starting Place

The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom should I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—whom should I dread? —Psalm 27:1

We don’t know when David wrote Psalm 27 or what circumstances he was going through at the time. But we do know he was in serious trouble. There were evildoers trying to devour him, an army encamped around him, and war rising against him.

This all sounds like dreadful, terrifying circumstances. Regardless of what was going on around him, however, David was not afraid. In fact, at the end of verse 3, he describes himself as confident.

How can this be? It’s because his eyes were fixed on the Lord. David didn’t start this psalm by talking about his adversaries and foes. While they were very real, his starting place was the Lord: “The Lord is my light and my salvation. . . The Lord is the stronghold of my life.” God’s character, the promises of God, the presence of God—these are greater and more powerful than all of David’s enemies combined.