Wait for the Lord - Psalm 27

Reflection at Morning Worship with the Community of Brendan the Navigator, 12th March 2024

In the book of Psalms we find expressions of almost every human emotion we could possibly experience, from joy and exaltation, through disappointment, to despair and depression. In this psalm, Psalm 27, we encounter the emotions of someone who has been disappointed in life, but who resolves to put it behind him or her, and trust in the goodness of God.  

The first 6 verses of Psalm 27 are a triumphant song of confidence in the Lord our God. ‘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?’.

But the next 6 verses express the pain of disappointment. ‘Do not hide your face from me.

Do not turn your servant away in anger, you who have been my help. Do not cast me off, do not forsake me, O God of my salvation!’. They are the cry of someone disappointed and despairing.

I am quite sure that every one of us has experienced numbing disappointments at some time or another. I certainly have. I can remember my feelings of inadequacy when a project I led was cancelled, and I and my team were suspended for a while on administrative leave. And I can recall my feelings of anger and bitterness when my first marriage broke down, when I feared I was losing not just my wife, but my children and my home. In my disappointment that life was not going to plan as I wished, I was in danger of drowning in despair. Thank God, I sought treatment for depression, and after a while it dissipated.

Looking back on these experiences now, this psalm tracks my emotional path dealing with disappointment, and recovering from despair. My life resumed its course. My career moved forward on new and satisfying lines. Eventually I found love, happiness, and a home with the love of my life. And to my joy my children share in that too.

The psalmist speaks for me when he declares in the final 2 verses, ‘I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage.’, because that has been my lived experience.

May this also be the experience of any of us who suffer disappointment and despair.