The Lord Is My Light

Opening Illustration – Confidence in Turbulence

An airliner was making its way from New York to San Francisco. Midway across the country, one of the engines caught fire.

The captain came on the intercom and calmly reassured the passengers,

> “Don’t worry. The fire will be out soon. This aircraft can fly just fine with three engines.”

Not long after, a second engine failed. Again the captain announced,

> “Don’t worry. We can fly safely on two engines.”

Then a third engine flamed out.

This time there was silence.

Finally the captain stepped into the cabin with a parachute strapped to his back.

Opening the exit door, he called out,

> “Don’t panic. I’m going for help!”

We smile at the absurdity, but it raises a real question:

When life feels like it’s losing one engine after another—health setbacks, financial stress, family upheavals—

where do we look for true confidence?

Who really pilots our lives when things seem out of control?

Psalm 27 opens with David’s answer:

> “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?”

David knew dark valleys and hostile enemies, yet he spoke with radiant assurance.

This morning let’s listen as David invites us to move from fear to faith, from anxiety to assurance.

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1. God Our Light and Salvation (Psalm 27:1–3)

David begins with a threefold confession:

The Lord is my light.

Light means clarity, direction, and life.

It scatters the shadows of confusion and exposes the traps of the enemy.

When we walk with God, we are never truly in the dark.

The Lord is my salvation.

Salvation is rescue—deliverance from danger and sin’s grip.

It is not merely an event but an ongoing reality.

God is continually saving, guiding, and keeping His people.

The Lord is the strength of my life.

Strength here is like a fortress or stronghold.

David pictures God as an impregnable castle where no foe can break through.

Because of these truths, he can ask with confidence,

> “Whom shall I fear? … Of whom shall I be afraid?”

Even when “an army encamps” around him, David declares,

> “My heart shall not fear.”

This is not bravado; it is settled trust.

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Illustration – The Sandbox Rock

A little boy once played in his sandbox, building roads for toy cars.

He discovered a huge rock that blocked his construction.

He dug and pushed until he dislodged it, but when he tried to roll it over the sandbox wall, it kept falling back.

Finally, exhausted and in tears, he heard a gentle voice:

> “Son, why didn’t you use all the strength you had?”

“But I did, Dad. I used everything!”

“No,” his father said kindly. “You didn’t ask me.”

The father then lifted the rock out with ease.

How often we strive and struggle, forgetting that our greatest strength is found in calling on our heavenly Father!

The Lord doesn’t merely add power to ours—He is our strength.

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Living Without Panic

Life brings seasons when resources run thin and the future feels uncertain.

Two extremes tempt us:

Presumption—assuming we can handle everything on our own.

Panic—imagining we are abandoned and helpless.

But God “has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7).

His perfect peace steadies those “whose minds are steadfast because they trust in Him” (Isaiah 26:3).

David’s opening verses invite us to step out of both presumption and panic and to rest in God’s light, salvation, and strength.

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2. Seeking God’s Presence (Psalm 27:4–6)

From this place of confidence, David expresses a single great desire:

> “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 behold the beauty of the Lord

and to inquire in his temple.”

David’s longing is not for escape but for fellowship—to live every day aware of God’s presence.

This is worship as a way of life, not just an hour on Sabbath or Sunday.

Why is this so vital?

Because when we dwell in God’s presence, we discover unshakable peace:

> “For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion;

in the secret of His tabernacle shall He hide me;

He shall set me up upon a rock” (verse 5).

Notice the movement:

from asking, to seeking, to beholding, to being hidden and lifted up.

Fear recedes as intimacy deepens.

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Worship as the Heart of Courage

It might seem counter-intuitive, but worship is warfare.

Songs of praise and moments of quiet adoration fortify the soul far more than frantic effort.

Paul and Silas discovered this in a Philippian jail.