Worship in the Midst of Worry: Psalm 27

And salvation looks at who will rescue me, but stronghold looks at where do I run? Because after the second half of this verse, he says, the Lord is my stronghold of my life. The Lord is the strong ultimate. Whom will I be afraid? Now a stronghold is like a high up fortress, right, with secure walls and and thick walls and an entrance that you can't easily get in and out of. It's a place where you run through for safety. [00:42:44] (27 seconds)  #StrongholdRefuge

David is being pressed on all sides. His enemies are in hot pursuit of him, and he asks for one thing. And I would venture to say it's not the one thing that you and I probably would have thought of. The the first thing to say, deliver me from my enemies, or the first thing to say, take me to a stronghold or give me food or something that I need. You know, David, his longing, he says to dwell in the house of the Lord. [00:48:32] (28 seconds)  #SeekGodsHouse

So don't look at the storm around you for your reference point. Look at the faithfulness of God because the faithfulness of God is your assurance, your assurance that he will come through no matter what the trajectory may look like in the moment. Paul Paul does this with the church in Corinthians. In second Corinthians, chapter four, he encourages them. They're being pressed and persecuted from all sides, and and Paul names the difficulties they're facing, but then he says, these light and momentary troubles are producing something greater. [00:56:39] (34 seconds)  #FaithThroughTrials

Because you see David already knows that God's presence alone in God's presence alone, the enemy is defeated. And that's why when I when the anxiety was coming at me, I knew I needed to go to scripture and I needed to pursue God's presence. Cause even if it's still coming at me, there's safety in God's presence. And David understood this. He doesn't just ask for his biggest need to be met. He wants to be with God. [00:48:59] (27 seconds)  #PresenceIsSafety

So what's happening here? David is proclaiming who God is. You see, when worry starts to surround us, we start with a proclamation. Proclaim who God is. Bold declaration is what David is doing here. The armies are pressing around, but he's starting with the character of God and who God is in his life and who God is in our life. And he makes it personal because David says the Lord is, not just the Lord gives. [00:38:36] (28 seconds)  #ProclaimGod

What's your cry with God right now? What's your plea? Where are you that you need his presence, that you're desperate for it? You may be facing a really hard situation or you may just say, God, I want more of you. What I have right now is good, but I just want more. I just want more. Seeking God's face is the purest form of worship that we can offer him. Worship that will turn our worry into confidence as we will see the goodness of God in the land of the living as we persevere while waiting. [00:54:45] (37 seconds)  #SeekHisFace

The storms don't always leave right away, but that's where David is teaching us. We worship in the midst of the storm because we have him with us. Paul tells us the same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is the same spirit that lives within us, that we can have his power and his presence going with us no matter what we are facing. What are you facing right now? What giant might be in your life that you say, I I don't know? Some of you have been believers for a really long time, and God is just saying, I want you to put some of those things aside, and I want you just to seek my presence more of it. [01:03:23] (52 seconds)  #WorshipInStorms

Patience requires practice, requires us anchoring ourselves in God's confidence and trust that he will move even when it doesn't seem like he is. And David is teaching us through the whole of this Psalm that we can rest and we can be assured that God is with us, and he has our best in mind, and he will protect us from the evil one. He teaches us that when we worship in the midst of worry, our confidence becomes rooted in the goodness of God because that's where our eyes are gazing. [01:00:59] (35 seconds)  #WorshipBuildsConfidence