Shadows vs. God’s Shield: A Christian Perspective on Ghosts, Goblins, and God’s Protection

As the weather cools and we prepare for darker, colder days ahead, October brings one of my favorite holidays: Halloween. Besides pumpkin carving and trick-or-treating (passing out candy as much as eating it), I love a safe scare, a good spooky story, and the cathartic feeling of confronting my deepest anxieties about death, mortality, and the afterlife from a comfortable place.

It’s hard to resist the spooky season when it’s all around me. Something about the supernatural, the unknown, and the things that go bump in the night is fascinating. But when fascination edges into fear, David’s words in Psalm 27:1 remind us that we don’t have to be afraid:

“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?” (ESV)

David learned from a lifetime of following God to trust Him with everything and lean into Him instead of his fears.

Understanding the Light of Psalm 27

We cannot determine with certainty when in David’s life Psalm 27 was written. We can, however, get a clear picture of what he was facing at the time of its writing when we read verses 3–4:

“When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble and fall. Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear.” (ESV)

David was dealing with real life. Reality for him included evil people who wanted to assault him violently, rivals who competed with him, enemies who refused to back down, and armies that wanted to destroy him.