Psalm 27:11-14 Wait for the Lord

Charles Spurgeon once wrote, “no matter how holy people may be, there will be some who will defame them.”

Unfortunately, there will always be people out there who will try to bring you down. They will speak evil of you and try to hurt your reputation. They may even attack you and persecute you in order to assuage their own consciences. What should we do when we are persecuted for righteousness’ sake? Turn our eyes to God. That’s what David does as he concludes this psalm.

Please read Psalm 27:11-14.

David’s plea at the end of this Psalm is for God to do two things: “teach me your way,” and “lead me on a level path.” He wants a map with directions and a guide to help lead the way. He wants a teacher and a private tutor. He wants instruction and a role model.

Praise the Lord that He has given us both! God has given us His Holy Word, filled with all the instructions that we need to follow Him on this earth. Someone has described the Bible with an acronym calling it:

B asic

I nstructions

B efore

L eaving

E arth

In God’s Word, we are thoroughly equipped with everything needed to obey the Lord in righteousness. But God then goes one step further. He not only teaches us, but He also leads us. 

God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to this earth. Jesus ultimately died on the cross as the payment for our sins. But, before He died, He spent three years ministering on this earth and living the perfect life as an example for us to follow. When He called His disciples, He used the words “follow me.” The disciples were invited to walk with Jesus, eat with Jesus, room with Jesus, and work alongside Jesus. They saw His every move and were encouraged to imitate Him. 

After Jesus ascended, the disciples passed His teachings along by making other disciples that could imitate them just as they imitated Christ. Paul even articulated this clearly in 1 Corinthians 11:1, “Be imitators of me as I am of Christ.”

Because we now have a human example to follow and written instructions to obey, we have everything that we need.

Why did David ask for these things? “Because of my enemies.” People were attacking him, and he didn’t know what to do. People were lying about him, and he didn’t know how to respond. So, he sought the Lord. Rather than focusing on his present circumstances, he looked ahead to his future circumstances.

When we get to heaven, we will not be worried about the persecutions that we endured on this earth; we will be humbled by our sins and grateful for the few times that we were faithful. We will receive crowns for all of our acts of obedience on this earth—crowns that we will have the privilege of laying at Jesus’ feet!

Let us not get distracted when people speak ill of us in this life. They hated our Master, so they will hate us. Let us instead wait for the Lord. This is so important that David repeats it at the end of this psalm, so I will as well. Wait for the Lord! Follow His example, and look to His second coming. In doing this, you can withstand all that the world may throw at you.