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Chutzpa!


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 the wicked advance against me to devour me, it is my enemies and my foes who will stumble and fall. Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident. (Psalm 27:1-3)

            Now this is confidence. Where did David get such chutzpa? We don’t know when in his life he wrote this. Is it the brashness of youth, or the old man’s long experience? Is it just David’s personality? Had he just experienced a victory? A defeat? A mountain top experience? A valley of the shadow of death experience? The passage itself doesn’t tell us.
            First, David compares God to light. As C.S. Lewis pointed out, light isn’t useful because we see it. It’s useful because by it we see all else. That God is our light means that He will provide direction. He will allow us to see, if we are willing to open our eyes.
            Second and third, He will rescue and protect. This is hard for some of us, because we are used to fighting. We’re used to having to make our own way because (we think) no one else will. Blood boils so easily when we hear what we think is a challenge to battle. Are we willing to stand down, and let God act as He sees fit?
                David goes on to say that even if enemies and problems assailed, he would still be confident. He’s telling us that the wicked are going to advance, enemies and foes will do what enemies and foes do. Armies may even march against us. We’re not guaranteed safety. We’re guaranteed a lack of safety. But even with all of that lack of safety, David says he will still be confident.
                I find myself wondering, “If I were confident in the face of the challenges I face, what would I do? What would it look like?” That’s going to take some thought.

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