I Will Not Fear!

Yesterday I started doing a study of fear, as it is discussed in Scripture.  I focused just on the New Testament, and of the 67 times its used in the New Testament, the vast majority were related to having a fear of God, a Holy Fear, or a response of fear to something unusual that God did in their midst.  However, I was reminded of the many times David and other Psalmists used the phrase, most o them had to do with addressing fear inside ones self.

I thought it might be a good thing to just quote a bunch of the verse from the different Psalms, sort of a mantra against fear.  I found reading through these quite uplifting.

Psalm 3:6 NIV: "I will not fear though tens of thousands assail me on every side."

Psalm 23:4 NIV:  "Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me."

Psalm 27:1 NIV:  "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?"

Psalm 27:3 NIV:  "Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident."

Psalm 34:4 NIV: "I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears."

Psalm 46:1-2 NIV: "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. [2] Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,"

Psalm 91:5-6 NIV: "You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, [6] nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday."

Psalm 112:6-8 NIV: "Surely the righteous will never be shaken; they will be remembered forever. [7] They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord. [8] Their hearts are secure, they will have no fear; in the end they will look in triumph on their foes."


The point of all these verses is that if you have a relationship with God, you can turn to Him to vanquish your fear.  He is our protector, our helper, our healer and our provider.  We can trust the Lord, and entrust ourselves to Him, to His goodness.

Far more of the uses of fear in the Psalms had to do with a fear of the Lord, as in a Holy reverence.  This is experienced when a person understands how awesome, majestic, just and glorious is our God.  It is a natural reaction to the revelation of just a bit of God's Glory!  God told Moses that no one could see His face and live (Exodus 33:20), and I suspect that has to with the overwhelming Magnificence and Glory of God. My point is that when we encounter God truly, our hearts respond and we understand our lowliness and His awesomeness.  Our hearts are stirred to obedience, to desiring to please God, and that, in my mind is fear of the Lord!

As I was researching our present situation, statistically, of the Covid-19 infection, and reading about the wide-spread response, of literally billions of people responding and sheltering in place, or modifying their lives accordingly, of governments issuing stricter and stricter guidelines, I realized that fear is a great motivator.  I saw a meme yesterday that simply said, "Fear is the virus" and I have to agree.  More than anything that is what is motivating people, and while some of the results are helpful the overall emotional and mental state of people is not good, at least in my opinion.

The other thought I had when reading about this all was that it would be such a wonderful thing if the same number of people responded to the Word of God with the same diligence and passion and fervency.  The good news is that there are Billions of Christians, in fact recent estimates put that number at between 2- 2.5 Billion people!  That is an amazing statistic!  Oh, that the worldwide church would rise up and respond to the Word of God, with the same fervency and passion, as we have had to this virus!   That we would allow the word of God to penetrate our lives, our minds and or hearts, and be changed!  That we would follow the command of the Lord and love one another as He loved us (John 13:34)!

My prayer is that you might not live in fear of the virus, but rather in reverence of the Lord!  May your hearts be at peace, your minds at rest and your emotions unswayed, as You meditate on God's love, power, provision and blessing!

Sam