Know No Fear

"The Lord is my light and my salvation-- so why should I be afraid? The Lord is my fortress protecting me from danger-- so why should I tremble? When evil people come to destroy me, when my enemies and foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. Though a mighty army surrounds me, my heart will know no fear. Even if they attack me, I remain confident."   Psalm 27:1-3 

A few days ago I saw a spider that was so big, my first instinct was to grab a baseball bat to defend my life and the lives of all those with me.  After taking a photo of said arachnid, we did some google research.  It turns out this kind of spider is such a bruiser that it doesn't even bother to make spider webs.  It just sneaks up on dinner and pounces on it.  ...  I don't like spiders. Even though we humans are typically not on the menu, their mere presence is simply unsettling to me.

Fear is a reality for all of us.  It may or may not be spiders, but it's there lurking in the shadows of our hearts.  King David wrote extensively about fear, as in our passage for today.  Interestingly, his comments regarding fear were not primarily about his struggle with it, but rather about his triumph over it.  His victory was not rooted in facing them down or playing mental games with himself.  It was rooted in the person of God ... "The Lord is my fortress..."

What has your knees knocking these days?  Financial struggles?  Wayward children?  Angry people?  Declining health?  Relational turmoil?  There are no shortages of fears.  There are, however, shortages of victories over them. Perhaps it's time for us to redirect our gaze.  In keeping with David's path to triumph over fear, let's fill our hearts so full of God that they will know no fear.

Grace and Peace,

Tom
Location: Fall Creek Christian Church, 1102 West 700 South, Pendleton, IN 46064, USA

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