Psalm 27 - Finding God's Strength

Some Monday mornings I wake up and the world seems too big. There is too much to do, too much that will never be done. There are too many things outside of my control. It seems I can never be the person I long to be. It seems that I will never be the pastor I wish I could be. I may not have evildoers assailing me or adversaries or foes, but I do sometimes feel surrounded, overwhelmed, there is a host encamped against me, in a not so literal way.

When I wake up on a Monday morning, in the wake of a busy Sunday, I ask of the Lord just one thing, one things I seek after, that is to live in the house of the Lord, rest content in the presence of my God, knowing that my God is my shelter, my rock and my refuge. Even when the world around seeks to overwhelm and drown me, find myself in sheltering, protection of my God.

I seek the face of the Lord, I cry out to my God and I am heard. I find shelter and strength. Here in God’s presence I am able to learn, to be lead. I learn what it means to follow the Lord God, I learn what it means to rely on God’s strength.

Each time I find myself here, I know better what it means to live in the house of the Lord, what it means to sit under the instruction of my savior. I can face my troubles, I can confront my fears and I know that my God is with me, beside me all along the way. I am comforted and I am strengthened.

The world around me does not disappear, concerns I feel do not go away, the troubles I face to not melt before my eyes, but with God it is manageable, I can make it through this day. I can make it through this week. I will not fear, I will not die, I will live! I live in the house of my God, surrounded by God’s strength, on which I will rely even as my own fails.

I am sure we all have mornings that are hard to face; weeks that loom before us unsurmountable. There is too much! The hurts we are to carry are too big. And that is when we can hear the Psalmist say to us, “I believe that I shall see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!