Psalm 27:3
Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident.
What an incredible thing to be able to say! And this isn't
just extravagant language from David ... I doubt that any of us will ever face an army whose sole purpose is to destroy is. None of us will ever be the cause of an all-out war. But David is the King of Israel. The prospect of war or a military coup to overthrow him and put someone else on the throne, was very real. In fact, his own son tried to do it. David knew what it was like to face
a threat in a way that we never will. Yet still, he was confident.
I love this verse because it shows us so clearly where his
confidence lies, and where ours needs to be, too. He doesn't say 'I'm trusting God so I'm confident that there won't be a war.' I imagine he still prayed for peace, and that he hoped the army wouldn't besiege him. But peace and safety aren't what he trusts in. His confidence, and his ultimate hope are in God himself. He'll face a hostile army if he has to, knowing that God is his saviour and stronghold.
How would you express that confidence, in terms of your own
circumstances right now? "Though I am in lockdown, my heart will not fear; though I end up on a ventilator in intensive care, even then I will be confident." Or perhaps "though I am exhausted my heart will not fear; though I don't get an uninterrupted night’s sleep for months, even then I will be confident."
Perhaps you can't say that and really mean it. Very often, the Psalms give us actual words to pray to God. But they also give us a model of what trusting God looks like, to which we aspire. When the palmist's confidence is greater than ours, we needn’t despair. It's a reminder of the direction in which God is changing us. So, whether our confidence in God is strong or weak right now, let's ask him to work in our hearts, so that we would grow to trust him more.
