the land of the living

What if I had not believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living?

My heart responds to those words from Ps 27.  It is spoken (rather, sung, since these are songs) in the midst of a plea for physical and spiritual protection from enemies that are fierce and out for blood.

The psalm begins
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom then shall I fear?
The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom then shall I be afraid?

It then goes on to explain exactly who, and how the Lord protects from these enemies.

It goes on to state the desire of his life:  to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life; to behold the fair beauty of the Lord, and to seek him in his temple.

We shouldn't go to war and pray to an unknown God for peace and protection.
No, we should live our lives in His service and spend our days in his temple
(under the shadow of His wings)
Then when trouble comes, we know the corners where we can hide.
We know the Father to whom we pray,
and we understand the surety of salvation in the evil day,
For we have spoken to him about it in the days, weeks, and months before.

So many of us go about our daily lives without any thought to our Lord God.
Then, when the hour comes in which we cry for comfort and peace,
we are surprised when we are left comfortless.

We don't understand.

It isn't that we are left comfortless,
It is that we don't recognize the Comforter.

So go to your secret place,
Call out to your Father now,
Don't wait for the day of trial to get to know him better.

He is here today, waiting in that still place--
That place that you know instinctively exists--
Go and meet him there.

He will teach you trust,
And hope,
And he will build your faith
From mustard seed to mountain.

Then when the evildoers come to your door
When death, darkness and despair come to call,
You will know where to turn.

He is truly a friend in the darkness,
But it's so much easier to see him in the darkness
If you have first walked with him when it was light.