Psalm 27:1-3

"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?

When evildoers assail me

to eat up my flesh,

my adversaries and foes,

it is they who stumble and fall.

Though an army encamp against me,

my heart shall not fear;

though war arise against me,

yet I will be confident."

As we look at the Psalms 27:1-3, I am drawn back to last week's sermon.

After Abishai defeated the giant Ishbi-Benob, there must have been a ton of questions. 

The reason he gave for standing toe-to-toe with a living death machine is found in II Samuel 21:17 … "Then David’s men swore to him, 'You shall no longer go out with us to battle, lest you quench the Lamp of Israel.'"

They called David the Light of Israel. Simply put, they saw David as too important to the nation. David was seen as the source of their identity, the source of their strength, and he was their purpose for being a nation.

David however, must have seen things a little differently. As we read Psalms 27, it appears to be a reflection of those events and David's thoughts on being called the Light of Israel. One simple question I have from this Psalm and II Samuel 21 is about the "why’s" in our lives.

Abishai stood up to a giant. Why? Because David was the light of Israel. 

David stood up to a giant. Why? Because God was the Light of his life.

Both men are victorious, but the reasons why they fight are more important than we think.

~ Pastor Jackie James