You, O Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light. With your help I can advance against a troop, with my God I can scale a wall. As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him. ~ Psalm 18:28-30 (NIV)
This week a series of events happened that as a result I found myself feeling fear in a way that I have not felt in quite a while. It reared its head around every corner and consumed me to the degree that my sleep was restless and my stomach held a continual knot. As I was expressing my concerns to God, I opened my bible and Psalm 18 glared out at me like neon lights on a very dark night. This passage holds the words that David sang after God delivered him from Saul and his troops of men who were hunting him down wanting him dead. From other passages it is made clear that this same David who fought and killed Goliath as a youth was now as an adult dealing with fear for his life. He cried out to God and God rescued him. While running for his life from Saul God was with David the entire time protecting him and giving him the strength he needed to overcome the fear and win the battle. In verses 28-30 David not only acknowledges that his personal strength came entirely from God but he acknowledges Gods perfect ways and greatness as well, giving him all the glory. God turned his darkness to light. He gave him strength to scale walls! Verse 30 says, He is a shield for ALL who take refuge in him. Note he did not say for I he said for all. The awesome thing about God is that there are no prerequisites, he does not discriminate, he is there at all times for all people to take refuge in him and he will be our shield every time.
As I took refuge in God the intense fear that I was feeling began to leave. Have the events that brought this fear on been resolved? No. In Gods time they will be. Like always all I had to do was place my trust in Him and he took the fear and replaced it with peace. He will do it again and again, for me and for you.
The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you. ~ Psalm 9:9 – 10 (NIV)
Fear. It’s a stronghold that I battle with more than I’d like to admit. My imagination has an ugly way of running away with my thoughts, and before I know it, fear has its foot in my heart. Often times I don’t even realize that I’m afraid of something until I feel its paralyzing effects.
If I’m not careful, I could spend my life in constant fear. All we have to do is turn on the news to see that this world is full of things to dread. Whether its something far away or close to home; fear and worry are real.
But I have hope, peace, and comfort. This Psalm that King David wrote thousands of years ago continues to bring solace to me today. Regardless of what is happening around me, these words of promise and hope can come to my mind and remind me that I am not alone.
The key words that stick out to me are refuge – protection, security; oppressed – abused, crushed; stronghold – fort, castle; trouble – trial, suffering; trust – believe, hope; forsaken – desert, leave; and seek – look for, try to find.
We can’t change the fact that life can be scary. What we can control, however, is how we respond. We can live in fear and never really live. Or, we can find comfort in the fact that our Lord will never leave us. He will always be our fortress and will protect us. All we have to do is look for Him.
