How can we face trouble with hope? (Psalm 27)

The New Year gives us a sense of a new beginning, a chance to re-think our priorities, to break old patterns and establish new ones. If we got stuck in bad habits, or our thinking and emotions move in a familiar groove of envy, self-pity, regret over the past, if onlys, grumbling over events or others’ attitude to us, this is the time to make a change for the better. Even more importantly, it is helpful to evaluate our relationship with God. Has it grown over the past year, faltered during dark times or have we just plodded along? Of course, there is nothing magical about the beginning of a New Year and it will be what we make of it. Nevertheless, we can use it as an opportunity to turn over a new leaf and make a fresh start with God and others.

Knowing God’s character

The psalmist aids our reflections with a question. ‘Whom shall I fear?’ (Ps 27:1), he asks. His situation reflects a military setting (armies attacking, war and enemies), but it may be read metaphorically (Ps 27:2-3). Who hasn’t felt ‘besieged’ by problems or experienced the all-consuming demands of others? In difficult situations, suffering and loss, whom do we turn to? What do we trust in? The psalmist is confident of God because of His character (v.1). In the dark, we feel disoriented and despairing, but God gives ‘light’, i.e. guidance and hope, particularly through His Word (e.g. Isa 8:22; 9:1-2; Ps 119:105). He is also the one who delivers in difficult situations (the meaning of salvation in the Old Testament is not restricted to its spiritual sense). Finally, the psalmist knows God as protection. Consciously remembering God’s character (perhaps through memorising or writing out Bible verses to keep in front of us every day) is the beginning of building up our trust in Him.

Nourishing the relationship with God

The psalmist, however, does not seek God only when trouble looms. Rather, he thirsts for God’s presence as a daily reality (the sense of wanting to dwell in God’s house; Ps 27:4). So many of our prayers are what someone called ‘arrow prayers’, random shots in the dark to someone higher up to help. It is a challenge to desire fellowship with God, to invest time in prayer and reflection on His Word not only when we desperately need Him but also when life is good. No wonder that the Lord sometimes has to send trouble our way so that we might awaken to His reality! Two aspects come to the fore in the psalmist’s desire. On the one hand, he wants to nourish the relationship with God, to revel in His character (‘to behold the beauty of the Lord’), but it is also specific in seeking out His will in particular matters (‘meditate’ in v.4 means ‘to inquire’). Being deeply rooted in that relationship will enable us to confront trouble, be lifted up by God and respond with joy and thanksgiving (Ps 27:5-6).

Facing trouble with hope

While the rousing tone of the psalm encourages us, what about the mundane reality when we seek God’s presence (the meaning of ‘face’, Ps 27:8), but He seems distant or absent and we feel abandoned, perhaps even wondering if the Lord is angry with us (Ps 27:9)? It is this that the writer addresses in the second half of the psalm, reflecting the struggle with despair, the fears of becoming overwhelmed. Wrestling with doubt, however, is not the same as giving into it and throughout this section the psalmist applies the principles he set out in the first half of the psalm. He consciously recalls God’s character through past experience as the One who will not fail him (Ps 27:9-10). He also asks the Lord to guide him into faithful living (Ps 27:11), knowing that disruption of his relationship with God through sin undermines trust. In the end, it is that unshakeable conviction of God’s goodness that arises from his ongoing relationship with the Lord that helps the psalmist to overcome despair (Ps 27:13). As we look toward the New Year, may we recommit our lives to a faithful relationship with the Lord and know His presence and goodness in calm waters as well as in stormy seas.

If you enjoyed this post, please share it with others.