Psalm 27:1 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?

We don’t wake up every morning feeling fit for battle. Truth be told, we would much rather turn over, pull the covers over our heads and go right back to sleep. But you and I know very well that unless we are ill, that is not an option. So we go through the necessary physical motions of getting ready and hope our minds catch up quickly enough to get our day on course. Believers know that a day starting with thanksgiving and a conversation with the Lord will go much better than if you don’t. Sometimes however, no matter how it started, it is possible to come to the end of some days feeling as if you had been through a grinder and when you put your head on the pillow, calm does not come.

I recall a night which started out like that for me. I had a late evening phone call from a total stranger who shared some information with me that set my mind reeling. Most of the conversation was self-serving on his part, but some of it alerted me to possible pitfalls in an agreement I had signed off on a few weeks prior. As I lay down, I started to analyze the situation. Then I quickly reminded myself: “no, not tonight, you need to go to sleep.”

No sooner I finished the thought, the 27^th Psalm came to mind and I started to repeat the verses I could recall. Then I got up, grabbed my Bible and read the whole Psalm. By the time I got to the end, a calm assurance had set in. Why? The Word had ministered to me in an amazing way. It didn’t really matter what pitfalls were out there, I knew God had already gone ahead of me to smooth the way. How can I be so sure? The transaction I had entered into was in obedience to God’s earlier guidance and it was time-bound. It is the second to last phase of a “valley experience” that God has been leading me through. The caller did not know any of that. So with this Psalm I believe the Lord was just reminding me that there was no need to be afraid as He would be completely in charge of the outcome of my situation. The Word of God is a lamp for our feet and a light to our pathway. (See Psalm 119:105). With the agreement having long since expired, I can testify that truly there was nothing to fear.