“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked came against me to eat up my flesh, my enemies and foes, they stumbled and fell. Though an army may encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war should rise against me, in this I will be confident. One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord All the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple” (Psalm 27:1-4).
When I consider the life of King David, I am amazed at how he was able to handle the incredible challenges he faced. Out of all of Israel, he alone was willing to take on and defeat the Philistine champion Goliath who stood about 9 feet tall (1 Samuel 17:4-51). Furthermore, David had to spend years running for his life from the jealous rage of King Saul who was trying to hunt him down to kill him (1 Samuel 18:9-31:4). Moreover, David even had to cope with his own son Absalom trying to overthrow his kingdom and pursue his life (2 Samuel 15:1-18:15). In addition to these events, David had fought in many battles and wars against the enemies of God’s people.
How was David able to manage these immense trials he confronted during his lifetime? As the opening verses above indicate, he was able to handle these threats because he had supreme confidence in God! He looked to the Lord as his “light” and his “salvation” (Psalm 27:1). Furthermore, David’s life goal was focused on one singular purpose: “One thing I have desired of the Lord, that I will seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple” (Psalm 27:4). His heart’s desire and focus were to go to the house of the Lord (i.e. the tabernacle) and worship God. Put in modern terms: David’s one goal was to make it to attend church services to seek God and worship Him!
One of the great challenges we face in our lives is being distracted by too many things and a failure to keep focused on the things that really matter. When facing challenges in our lives, many times we get distracted and begin to worry about our families, our finances, our health, our career goals, or other things. I am not saying that these have no importance at all. They do. But are these to be the main focus of our lives? Who gave us our families, our finances, our health, etc.? God did! He should be the One who is the first priority in our lives. He was for David as he said to the Lord: “When You said, ‘Seek My face,’ My heart said to You, ‘Your face, Lord, I will seek’” (Psalm 27:8).
As David sought the Lord, he pursued learning the Lord’s Will for his life: “Teach me Your way, O Lord, and lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies” (Psalm 27:11). No matter what happened to him, even if his family forsook him, David would not get distracted from his purpose of seeking after God: “When my father and mother forsake me, then the Lord will take care of me” (Psalm 27:10). Because of his supreme focused concentration on seeking after God and God’s Will for him, David developed great confidence in the Lord’s ability to deliver him: “I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord! (Psalm 27:13-14). Today, I will strive to have David’s focus on seeking the Lord and His Will for me so that I may develop confidence in the Lord’s ability to deliver me from any trial which I face!
“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).