"I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears." Psalm 34:4
The entire world is bound and governed by fear. We spend billions on national defense because we don't trust one another. If we invested half of what we spent on our militaries to help each other we could solve much of the world's problems. We could fight disease better and increase literacy rates. We could invest more in science and the arts. All of these things would lead to less war and conflict, and less need for future armaments. So we have a choice to make - which trajectory do we want to be on? Do we want to spiral into paranoia, or build together in hope? One glimpse at the nightly news and it is painfully obvious we are heading fast down the wrong track. Without God, we have no choice. In this same Psalm where David talks about being delivered from all his fears, he makes this declaration: Fear the LORD, you his saints (v.9). It's an interesting contrast. David's fear of the Lord is what delivers him from all fear. How is this possible? What David discovered is that there are two kinds of fear - one that helps you and one that hurts you. For example, there is a fear that motivates you to be responsible, but there is also a fear that paralyzes you. The first fear is an understanding of a real danger and what needs to happen to avoid it. The second fear overwhelms you by amplifying a danger that seems beyond your control. In such cases, God says trust in me to handle this for you. The "fear of the Lord" is a recognition of how great and powerful our God is. It's like having a lion next to you and being able to say: "I'm glad he's on our side." This is what God wants us to understand about our relationship with him. The world is a mess because unhealthy fear controls it. God wants to transform it through His people who confront this fear with its only antidote: His perfect love.
Heavenly Father, embolden us to face the future in the light of your great power.
#fearlessliving
The entire world is bound and governed by fear. We spend billions on national defense because we don't trust one another. If we invested half of what we spent on our militaries to help each other we could solve much of the world's problems. We could fight disease better and increase literacy rates. We could invest more in science and the arts. All of these things would lead to less war and conflict, and less need for future armaments. So we have a choice to make - which trajectory do we want to be on? Do we want to spiral into paranoia, or build together in hope? One glimpse at the nightly news and it is painfully obvious we are heading fast down the wrong track. Without God, we have no choice. In this same Psalm where David talks about being delivered from all his fears, he makes this declaration: Fear the LORD, you his saints (v.9). It's an interesting contrast. David's fear of the Lord is what delivers him from all fear. How is this possible? What David discovered is that there are two kinds of fear - one that helps you and one that hurts you. For example, there is a fear that motivates you to be responsible, but there is also a fear that paralyzes you. The first fear is an understanding of a real danger and what needs to happen to avoid it. The second fear overwhelms you by amplifying a danger that seems beyond your control. In such cases, God says trust in me to handle this for you. The "fear of the Lord" is a recognition of how great and powerful our God is. It's like having a lion next to you and being able to say: "I'm glad he's on our side." This is what God wants us to understand about our relationship with him. The world is a mess because unhealthy fear controls it. God wants to transform it through His people who confront this fear with its only antidote: His perfect love.
Heavenly Father, embolden us to face the future in the light of your great power.
#fearlessliving