Psalm 27:1 (KJV)

What does this mean?

David is facing real enemies, and he begins by naming who God is to him: his light and his rescue. Light drives out darkness, and rescue means God is the one who saves him from danger. The 'rescue' here means God's deliverance in battle and trouble, the plain, everyday kind of saving that David needed.

What does this teach us?

Fear shrinks when you name who God is. David does not start with his enemies, he starts with the Lord, and once God is named as light and rescue, the question of who to fear answers itself.

How can we apply this?

When fear rises, name it out loud and then name God beside it: 'I am afraid of this, and the Lord is my light.' Say it before the hard conversation, the hard call, the hard night, and let the light be bigger than the dark.

Related KJV passages

• “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”

  Psalm 23:4

• “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”

  Isaiah 41:10

• “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

  2 Timothy 1:7