LIGHT, STRENGTH AND PROTECTION
PSALM 18:28-30 NKJV
28 For You will light my lamp;
The Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.
29 For by You I can run against a troop,
By my God I can leap over a wall.
30 As for God, His way is perfect;
The word of the Lord is proven;
He is a shield to all who trust in Him.
David is consistently declaring who God is to him. This cultivated behavior is more than just a habit; this is a strength.
You may not be particularly impressed with David’s expressions of and about God. But we all should be impressed with the amount of help and success that came his way. There is a connection here.
Some are not fond of the teachings that connect our mouth with victories. This is where we get the mocking phrases of confess it and possess it and name it and claim it.
But we should be willing to look at what the scriptures say regarding our words as it correlates to the results in our lives. And we should be willing to look at examples in the scriptures of how people, we consider biblical heroes, spoke. David is one of those people.
Many will tell you that their favorite Old Testament character is David. I would be in that camp. So if we are going to put David in rarified air as a hero and a man after God’s own heart, we might want to look at how David spoke. His bold declarations may make some nervous.
For You Lord will light my lamp: The Lord, my God, will enlighten my darkness. Notice how positive David is in his declarations of what God will do for him. Some today would chastise David for his boldness and call it arrogance. But these scriptures were not written for us to critique David. These scriptures were written as an example. To encourage us to say that God will light our lamp and will enlighten us. Remember, we have a better covenant than David had.
And David is not done. He then declares what he can do with God’s help. Running against and troop and leaping over a wall is obtainable because of God. David does not attribute any of his victories to his own skills.
David acknowledges God’s ways are perfect and His word is sure. He declares that God is protection to those who trust in Him. Here David reveals a powerful truth. Those who trust are protected. And we can add that those who trust receive light. And those who trust can do amazing things because of God’s help.
APPLICATION:
David understood the principle of faith. David developed a strong confidence in God and knew that God would give him wisdom, strength, and protection.
We have David’s words and exploits so that we can follow David’s example. We can declare that God will give us light. He will strengthen us to handle problems. And He will protect us. That His word is sure, and we can depend on Him and His word.
What do we have to lose? Let’s talk about God’s light, strength, and protection. We will not get in trouble with God for speaking like David. Instead, we’ll be pleasing to God as we trust His word and His ways.
PRAYER:
Lord, thank You for Your goodness to me. Thank You that You will enlighten me, strengthen me, and protect me. I trust You, Your ways, and Your word. And I am helped.