GOD IS MY LIGHT AND STRONGHOLD

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? (Psalm 27:1)

I was shut up in my dark room, waiting for the waves of the flare to lift. Oh, how I had tried to keep my little light shining! I thought I had learned to spot the signs of encroaching darkness; I thought I could recognize when the waves of pain would approach. Apparently, I had missed one too many of those signs, and I now felt forced into an isolating rest. My light had failed, and I struggled to glimpse how my Savior's light could shine in this darkened room of pain.

Do we know that the Lord is truly our light?

If we do, how do we let His light guide us through the dark days of pain and weakness?

David (the author of Psalm 27) knew what it meant to face dark places. King Saul had chased him unrelentingly and even tried to take his very life. In fact, when David wrote of the Lord being his stronghold, he had spent a time of desolation-dwelling in a place commonly known as the strongholds of En Gedi.

It was a forlorn place, with caves built into the sides of the cliffs that were perfect for hiding. A spring with nourishing water for those who had survived the desert was hidden there. Photos of En Gedi taken by visitors to Israel can give us a glimpse of the landscape and surroundings.

The utter desolation is shocking. How could God have led David to those dry and forsaken lands? Yet, the phrase David wrote while he was in En Gedi, cut off from his home, was this: GOD is the stronghold of my life. He realized that the place that felt so forlorn had become God’s protection during the years of his enemy’s pursuit. God provided all He needed during the days of desolation, even placing a spring of water in the middle of the barrenness.

REST IN THE LORD, OUR STRONGHOLD

The Greek word for stronghold (ochyrōma) means a place of safety, protection, or refuge.

• Can we ask God to show us how He is our stronghold, our safety, our protector, our refuge on days when we feel forsaken and desolate?
• Could/would seeing this characteristic of God change our perspective from fear to trust?
• Could we shine forth that trust in our lives?

Could it be that resting in this darkened room is the very place where Jesus is calling to me? Perhaps He is asking me to shift my perspective from seeing this as my forced resting place to seeing this as the place I get to rest, in the stronghold of my Lord.

Is He also calling you to find His safe stronghold?

PRAYER

Dear Lord Jesus, thank You for Your merciful compassion that sees into the deepest ache of our hearts. We are amazed that You see the true state of our condition, the true state of our need. You know that while we want to be shed of this battle and these desolate places of pain, what we truly need is a place of light and hiding with You. Thank You for setting up these hidden springs where we can receive such grace and life from You. Forgive us for when we look away and try to find our way out of the desert. Help us to open our eyes to see the stronghold that You have prepared for us with You, right here in our hearts, where You dwell in us. In Your precious name, we pray, amen.