My Light, My Salvation, My 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've been quoting this verse to myself a lot recently. The process starts when someone close to me says something that really gets under my skin... I can tell something is going on because I begin to get angry, maybe start judging the other person and start having imaginary conversations in my head about what I would really like to say to them. "They don't know what they're talking about... They're so closed minded... So arrogant and judgmental..." and on it goes until we convince ourselves that we are right and worthy of the other person's respect if only they could see the truth.
In my own life, there are certain people who, in a way, I fear. I respect them so much that for them to disagree with or hold a different belief from mine feels tragic! That dead horse starts kicking and screaming all over again. If someone else were to disagree with me, I could care less, but for this person, the minute I or my beliefs feel threatened, up comes the anger and argumentativeness. Why do we do this? Because in some way we are relying on those special people to be our light, our salvation, our stronghold. When there is the threat of their disapproval, separation, or rejection we flip out. We are being declared wrong by the person who would guide us; declared alone by the person who would save us; vulnerable to rejection by the person who would protect us from ourselves and from the world. The solution? We fight tooth and nail to convince them and ourselves that we are right and worthy of their approval! I just need to make them understand! Unfortunately, this doesn't work. Or rather, fortunately, it doesn't work...
Recently, instead of allowing this emotional roller coaster to go on in my head and heart, I'll take a deep breath and say, "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?"
The Lord is my light. He guides me, shows me truth, reveals what I need to know and leads me on good paths. He determines what is right and good for me. Other people's thoughts can be helpful, but they do not determine what is true or what I believe. Not even the most respected people in my life! That's God's job. They cannot determine what the right decisions for my life are. That is God's job. I am to seek good counsel, and consider it carefully, but always within God's sovereign direction. I rely on Him for my light, not anyone else.
The Lord is my salvation. What am I looking for salvation from??? Sometimes I don't even know. Mostly, I think I need salvation from myself. We all know we are imperfect: we fail, we hurt others, we're selfish, we do not understand, and often we do not believe. So we look to someone we have considered "good" and ask them if we are ok. We trust their judgment and live by their standards, believing that their approval will save us from our sin. We also look for salvation from the world. This world is a scary place! There is pain, danger, uncertainty and loneliness. So we find someone we can look to to be our knight in shining armor. Someone to save us when we are sinking. Someone to make sure we are ok.
The problem is that they cannot do it. They can never save us in all the ways we need saving every single day, and that realization will cause a tremendous amount of fear and anger at ourelves and others. God is my salvation. None other. He created me and knows me. He knows every sin, every danger, every fear. His name is Jesus: "The Lord is salvation." Jesus took the punishment for my sin upon himself. I died in my sin with him on the cross, and I was raised with him to a new life of forgiveness, complete approval of God and the righteousness of Christ. He declares me "good." I am saved. And he will save me in this life too. He cares for me like a Father and leads me like a Shepherd. Why should I be afraid? I do not need to trust anyone else for my salvation. The Lord is my salvation.
The Lord is the stronghold of my life. God gives me security. When everything around me seems lost, and I cannot see any way out, He is my refuge, my safe place of protection. The stronghold is the fortress, the place you run to where you know you will be protected, where the enemy cannot enter and will never be able to enter. God is not only a stronghold for the moment... He is the stronghold of my life. He is the one who holds it all together, the one I bet all my cards on, the foundation I build my life upon. Others may offer help. They may give support during hardship and comfort for a time, but their comfort, help and support lasts only for a moment. Their protection is limited and determined only by what they can see. Ultimately, their protection and strength will fail and prove to be inadequate for all of my needs. What a disappointment when those we rely on to protect us and comfort us and love us... fail us. God is my stronghold for all of life, and he will never fail.
So, you see, I don't need to freak out anymore when that person disagrees with me, does not approve of me, or is not supporting me. He is not my light. He is not my salvation. He is not my stronghold. God is and always will be. So why should I be afraid?
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?
I've been quoting this verse to myself a lot recently. The process starts when someone close to me says something that really gets under my skin... I can tell something is going on because I begin to get angry, maybe start judging the other person and start having imaginary conversations in my head about what I would really like to say to them. "They don't know what they're talking about... They're so closed minded... So arrogant and judgmental..." and on it goes until we convince ourselves that we are right and worthy of the other person's respect if only they could see the truth.
In my own life, there are certain people who, in a way, I fear. I respect them so much that for them to disagree with or hold a different belief from mine feels tragic! That dead horse starts kicking and screaming all over again. If someone else were to disagree with me, I could care less, but for this person, the minute I or my beliefs feel threatened, up comes the anger and argumentativeness. Why do we do this? Because in some way we are relying on those special people to be our light, our salvation, our stronghold. When there is the threat of their disapproval, separation, or rejection we flip out. We are being declared wrong by the person who would guide us; declared alone by the person who would save us; vulnerable to rejection by the person who would protect us from ourselves and from the world. The solution? We fight tooth and nail to convince them and ourselves that we are right and worthy of their approval! I just need to make them understand! Unfortunately, this doesn't work. Or rather, fortunately, it doesn't work...
Recently, instead of allowing this emotional roller coaster to go on in my head and heart, I'll take a deep breath and say, "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?"
The Lord is my light. He guides me, shows me truth, reveals what I need to know and leads me on good paths. He determines what is right and good for me. Other people's thoughts can be helpful, but they do not determine what is true or what I believe. Not even the most respected people in my life! That's God's job. They cannot determine what the right decisions for my life are. That is God's job. I am to seek good counsel, and consider it carefully, but always within God's sovereign direction. I rely on Him for my light, not anyone else.
The Lord is my salvation. What am I looking for salvation from??? Sometimes I don't even know. Mostly, I think I need salvation from myself. We all know we are imperfect: we fail, we hurt others, we're selfish, we do not understand, and often we do not believe. So we look to someone we have considered "good" and ask them if we are ok. We trust their judgment and live by their standards, believing that their approval will save us from our sin. We also look for salvation from the world. This world is a scary place! There is pain, danger, uncertainty and loneliness. So we find someone we can look to to be our knight in shining armor. Someone to save us when we are sinking. Someone to make sure we are ok.
The problem is that they cannot do it. They can never save us in all the ways we need saving every single day, and that realization will cause a tremendous amount of fear and anger at ourelves and others. God is my salvation. None other. He created me and knows me. He knows every sin, every danger, every fear. His name is Jesus: "The Lord is salvation." Jesus took the punishment for my sin upon himself. I died in my sin with him on the cross, and I was raised with him to a new life of forgiveness, complete approval of God and the righteousness of Christ. He declares me "good." I am saved. And he will save me in this life too. He cares for me like a Father and leads me like a Shepherd. Why should I be afraid? I do not need to trust anyone else for my salvation. The Lord is my salvation.
The Lord is the stronghold of my life. God gives me security. When everything around me seems lost, and I cannot see any way out, He is my refuge, my safe place of protection. The stronghold is the fortress, the place you run to where you know you will be protected, where the enemy cannot enter and will never be able to enter. God is not only a stronghold for the moment... He is the stronghold of my life. He is the one who holds it all together, the one I bet all my cards on, the foundation I build my life upon. Others may offer help. They may give support during hardship and comfort for a time, but their comfort, help and support lasts only for a moment. Their protection is limited and determined only by what they can see. Ultimately, their protection and strength will fail and prove to be inadequate for all of my needs. What a disappointment when those we rely on to protect us and comfort us and love us... fail us. God is my stronghold for all of life, and he will never fail.
So, you see, I don't need to freak out anymore when that person disagrees with me, does not approve of me, or is not supporting me. He is not my light. He is not my salvation. He is not my stronghold. God is and always will be. So why should I be afraid?
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?
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