Whom Shall I Fear?
Daily Old Testament Reading: Psalm 27, 32, 34
Daily Focus Passage: Psalm 27
David penned many Psalms as expressions of faith in the Lord as he endured various dynamics. At times, David poured his heart out in praise, and at other times he sought forgiveness or the work of the Lord in his life. In Psalm 27, David asks a simple question and provides the answer. He merely asked, "Whom shall I fear?" What a question. A question about becoming sidetracked because of the presence of unhealthy fear. What would the response look like if you asked that question of your life?
THE THREAT OF FEAR
Fear exists as the opposite of faith. Faith seeks to build up, while fear attempts to tear down. When we follow the Lord in faith, we have moments of facing the threat of fear blinding us from walking in faith. Fear has a manner of drawing our attention away from the Lord and becoming consumed with worry and doubt. Notice how fear threatens us.
FEAR THREATENS OUR LIFE. Fear threatens our life by drawing our attention to the enemies around us. When fear of those who seek to destroy us sets in, we begin to live in a state of uncertainty and worry. The joy of life becomes obsolete, and we live with a constant feeling of disruption. Fear causes us to constantly gaze over our shoulders instead of moving forward toward the Lord.
FEAR THREATENS OUR RESOLVE. Fear attempts to break our resolve to walk in faith. Fear may not cause us to walk in opposition to the ways of the Lord, but fear may fuel a spiritual paralysis where we fail to maintain the resolve to serve the Lord. As a result, we fall prey to fear and find ourselves experiencing apathy and a lack of serving the Lord in faithfulness. When this occurs, our resolve to follow the Lord no matter what becomes threatened.
FEAR THREATENS OUR VICTORIOUS LIVING. Fear can threaten our victorious feeling in life. When fear sets in, our faith becomes challenged, and often we lose the sense of hope that exists because of Christ. Fear draws our attention to this world's people, places, things, and events and keeps us from living in the victory God desires us to live in. Fear seeks to cause defeat in our lives and cause us to live in a state of depression controlled by our worry, doubt, and fear.
THE CERTAINTY OF THE LORD
David declared that believers must not live in fear but instead must live in faith. The faith that provides genuine hope occurs because of the certainty of the Lord and the guarantee of his promises. David details the characteristics that must provide this hope for us based on the character and person of the Lord.
CERTAINTY BECAUSE THE LORD IS MY LIGHT AND SALVATION. David opened with the declaration that the Lord is his light and salvation. David marked that the Lord alone is the illuminator of the darkness. He alone takes darkness and defeats it because he is the light needed for life. At the same time, David noted salvation from fear and the enemy comes from the Lord alone. David viewed Saul and others as the enemy, but today we recognize that the Lord is the light and salvation against the great enemy. We live in certainty because of faith because of the Lord.
CERTAINTY BECAUSE THE LORD IS MY STRONGHOLD. The Lord is the stronghold that never fails. He provides a certain foundation that remains faithful throughout all of life. As the stronghold, the Lord provides strength, certainty, and a foundation for life. When David announces that the Lord is his stronghold, he declares that his certainty rests in the Lord alone and not in the victories or people of this world. When the Lord is one's stronghold, he provides and becomes the purpose of one's life.
CERTAINTY BECAUSE THE LORD IS MY SHELTER. David battled fear by trusting in the Lord as his shelter. As a shelter, the Lord provided protection for David against Saul. A shelter was a place to find refuge, safety, and hope when the enemy was present. When the Lord is trusted as one's shelter, the believer finds refuge in the Lord while navigating the struggle of this world. When we have faith in the Lord as the place of refuge, he becomes the place of hope amid despair.
CERTAINTY BECAUSE THE LORD IS SHOWING ME THE PATH. David knew the path forward was not fully known. He knew the Lord had anointed him to be the next king, but the time had not yet come. He did not know all the hills and valleys of the journey but trusted the Lord to show him each phase and step as they came. Fear becomes combatted when the Lord's path is trusted in faith because the uncertainty that fuels fear becomes a non-issue. David understood that he needed to trust the Lord step by step and not become consumed with jumping ahead.
Whom shall you fear? That is the question we must answer. Who are we worrying and what fear is keeping us from serving the Lord in faithfulness? May we find encouragement from the Word of the Lord and live without fear.
