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?

Is your life full of all sorts of trials, troubles, and tribulations that tempt you to give way to fear? In our verse for today, David basically makes the claim that we have nothing to fear. We have nothing to fear because we have the Lord on our side.

We have nothing to fear because the Lord is our light. This reminds us of Psalm 43:3, “Send me your light and your faithful care, let them lead me.” Although darkness may surround us, the Lord shows us the way. Although darkness hides many difficulties, perplexities, and enemies, the Lord is there to lead us and guide us through them and around them. David’s followers referred to him as the “lamp of Israel,” (2 Samuel 21:17), but this was only true of him because the Lord was the light showing him the way.

We have nothing to fear because the Lord is also our salvation. This reminds us of Psalm 62:2, “Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.” The Lord not only shows us the way through the darkness, but He saves us from it all. He is our Deliverer and Savior. Although the enemies hidden in the darkness try to knock us down, we shall not be shaken from our sure foundation. “He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand,” (Psalm 40:2).

And we have nothing to fear because the Lord is also the stronghold of our lives. This reminds us of Psalm 144:2, “He is my loving God and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge.” Although we are vulnerable to the attacks from the enemies hidden in the darkness, the Lord protects us, supports us, and upholds us.

Given what the Lord is for us, whom shall we fear, of whom shall we be afraid? As the Apostle Paul put it, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31).

By John Huisman, friend of Bible League International