Another season of American Idol is upon us. This is the T.V. show that gives millions of Americans the opportunity to become the next pop star. If you’ve ever watched the show, especially the opening rounds, you know how most people who bomb are quick to say that they can really sing, not just well under pressure.
That describes life in general doesn’t it? It’s pretty easy to have a song in your heart when things are going well but it’s not so easy to keep singing when conflict comes and life crumbles. Wouldn’t it be great if we could stay confident in conflict? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could wake up every morning with a song in our heart, even if our health should be fading, our social life dying, and our financial resources dwindling? Whether it’s a Friday morning or a Monday morning we can wake up with a song in our heart. King David knew how and through Psalm 27 he will show us how to stay confident in conflict.
We don’t know the circumstances surrounding the writing of Psalm 27. David may have penned this song while being chased by King Saul and his army, or when he had to flee from his son Absalom. It doesn’t really matter who the enemy was because David sang: “Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident” (Ps. 27:4). How did David do it? How did he stay confident in the midst of conflict? David remained confident by looking to the Lord, not to his own strength or wisdom. David said, “ 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?” (Ps. 27:1)
From early on David demonstrated that the LORD, and not his own strength and wisdom, was the stronghold of his life. Do you remember the circumstances? David had gone to deliver food to his brothers who were fighting in the Israelite army against the Philistines. Only there wasn’t a lot of fighting going on because everyone in the Israelite army was scared to face the Philistine giant, Goliath. When David heard Goliath mock God he volunteered to fight the nine-foot giant. Many, including his own brothers, ridiculed David for thinking he could take on Goliath. But David remained confident. He knew that even if his family abandoned him, God would not (Ps. 27:10). Therefore David’s confidence was not the cockiness you see in many athletes today. David didn’t think he was going to defeat Goliath because he was such a good shot with the sling. No, his confidence was in the Lord who had always been with him and who would stay with him when he took on Goliath.
Who or what is the stronghold of your life? Is it your family and friends? If so, they will disappoint you as they did David. Is it the financial investments you’ve made? Is it your winning personality? Your looks? Your smarts? Your skills? If any of these is the stronghold of our life, our trust is in ourselves, not our Lord. It’s not just sinful but foolish to put our trust in ourselves. For what would happen should God choose to wipe out our retirement fund? What would happen should a car accident take away our looks and abilities? What will happen when the onset of years eats away at our smarts? If any of these things has been the stronghold of our life, we will despair.
Friends, let us repent of trusting ourselves and look to the Lord as the stronghold of our life. With the Lord as our stronghold we will remain confident even when the worst calamity strikes, for David said: “he will…set me high upon a rock…my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me” (Ps. 27:5b, 6a). We know that God will lift us over calamity and above our enemies because he has already done this for us in Jesus. Like a lifeguard diving into the ocean to rescue a drowning swimmer, Jesus dove into humanity to lift us out of our sins and up to heaven. In doing this, however, Jesus himself drowned in our sins.
But Jesus didn’t remain dead. He came back to life and continues to lift us above calamity. I’ve seen that happen again and again in your lives. Take Spencer (Beach) for example. Had you asked Spencer before the accident happened if he would be able to survive and overcome third degree chemical burns on 90% of his body, I’m sure he would have said “No way!” But here he is, not just surviving but thriving! Why? Because God has been true to his promise and has given Spencer the strength he’s needed every step of the way. You may think that you could never do what Spencer has done, but then again God hasn’t asked you to. If he did, he would give you the strength (1 Cor. 10:13; 2 Cor. 12:9). Since that’s his promise we can remain confident no matter what the conflict God allows into our life. Keep looking to him and not to yourself, nor at the size of the conflict.
But is it true that God always lifts us above calamity? What about those believers who died in the tsunami a month ago? Did God not keep his promise to raise them above the killer waves and keep them safe? No, even in death God raises us above calamity, way above calamity, because he takes us to heaven. That’s why David could say at the end of our text: “I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living” (Ps. 27:13). Because we have the forgiveness of sins, no matter what the calamity we will live to see God’s goodness whether here on earth or there in heaven!
Isn’t it great to know that with the Lord as the stronghold of our life we have nothing to fear? It’s great to know this but quite another thing to actually live it – especially if God has seen fit to let us endure conflict that never seems to end. How can one stay confident under relentless pressure? David teaches us how when he sang: “One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple. 5 For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock. 6 Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the LORD” (Ps. 27:4-6).
Are you surprised that the number one thing that David wanted was to spend time in God’s house? Is that the thing we want most from God? Aren’t we quicker to ask God for things like health, financial stability, and even good weather? Why was David so eager to live in the house of the Lord? Because it was in God’s house that David would be reminded that the Lord was the stronghold of his life (Ps. 27:11). The Word he heard in God’s house didn’t just refocus David’s faith; it reenergized him for he said he would respond with shouts of joy.
Is there as pressing a need for us to be in God’s house today? After all we have so many devotional materials available to us that we don’t need to come to church to refocus our faith, we can do that at home. Why, we can even read the Sunday sermon at home before it’s preached. What’s the point of coming to church if we’ve already done that?
The Lord’s house has so much more to offer than the Sunday sermon. It’s here that we collectively admit our sinfulness and seek God’s forgiveness. We don’t just seek his forgiveness; we receive it when the pastor pronounces the absolution. It’s here that we can rub elbows with God’s people and give and receive encouragement. It’s here that we brush up against God himself when we receive the Son’s body and blood in the Sacrament. That’s something that we can’t get at home. It’s here we praise God with our shouts of joy in our hymns and liturgy. By the time we’re ready to leave, there is a spring in our step because we’ve heard God’s Word, we’ve seen his goodness, and we’ve been reenergized to take on another week. Lord, forgive us when we grumble about coming to church. Forgive us when we think that our time could be better spent working on projects at home rather than being assured of your love and forgiveness here in your house. Because you have forgiven us, move us now to desire above all else what David wanted – to spend time in your house.
While a lot of contestants on American Idol blame their nerves for their poor performance, the truth is most of these people just can’t sing. That should be true of us too. Because of our sins of self-trust, God should make our lives so miserable that we can only wail. But that isn’t the tune we’ll be singing when we leave this morning is it? Why not? Because we have seen God’s love for us. We have heard how he sent his Son to rescue us from our sins and to raise us above calamity. We don’t just have a reason to sing, we now have the strength to sing for the Lord is the stronghold of our lives, of whom shall we be afraid? Amen.
