Devotional: November 2009

Living Life Without Fear (Part 1)

Psalm 34: 1-4:  I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.  My soul shall make her boast in the Lord; the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.  O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.  I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. 

Have you ever faced extreme fear in your life?  Has it kept you from experiencing things, going places, or even from performing the will of God for your life?  Fear is no respecter of persons.  It attacks men & women of all ages, shapes and sizes, from all walks of life.  When it invades your being, it will alter your behavior and cripple you.  Fear is a prison that will hold you captive and prevent you from experiencing the abundant life in Christ that He offers (John 10:10).  Fear will keep you from fulfilling your God-given destiny.  I’d like to shed some light on this enemy that is keeping you in the dark by giving you some Biblical antidotes for fear. 

One of the roots of fear is a misplaced trust.  In our pride, we like to be in control, managing life ourselves (see Get Ready to Throw, Jan.-Feb. devotional), but because we are human, we will inevitably let ourselves down!  We are also disappointed when we put all our trust in other people.  When the basis of our security lies in another human being, we will inevitably be disillusioned.  No matter how much people love us, they will at times let us down and hurt us.  Misplaced trust opens a door to fear in our lives.    

The antidote to this is placing our trust in the only One worth trusting with both body and soul.  David learned this early on in life.  He spent much of his life running from enemies and often surrounded, but his faith was continuously in God who always delivered him.  In Psalm 34, he says, “My soul shall make her boast in the Lord; the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.”   No matter how many victories he had, his confidence was still in the Lord, not himself!  Here are some things that he said:

“The Lord is on my side: I will not fear: what can man do unto me?” –Psalm 118: 6

“It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.  It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes.” –Psalm 118:8

“They compassed me about; yea, they compassed me about: but in the name of the Lord I will destroy them.” –Psalm 118:11

“The Lord is my light and my salvation: whom shall I fear?  The Lord is the strength of my life: of whom shall I be afraid?” –Psalm 27:1

“What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.” –Psalm 56:4

If you have the Spirit of God living in you, you have faith, because it is a fruit of the Spirit.  If you feed your faith, your fears will starve; but feed your fears, and your faith will starve*.  How do you feed your faith?  With the truth of the Word of God. 

So when fear comes knocking on your door today, just rest in your easy chair of peace and send your faith to answer the door.  Jesus paid a high price for you to have those characteristics; you might as well make them work for you!

--Sonya

*This idea by Max Lucado via twitter