Of Whom Shall I Be Afraid?
Fear. What is fear? What are you afraid of? What scares the life out of you? Who scares the life out of you?
I was half asleep when I suddenly heard a noise in the living room. I immediately thought about the front door. I asked myself, “Did I lock the door?” I came from a prayer meeting that night. Usually, I use the garage door entering our house, but that particular night the garage door was not working so I used the front door. So, after being awakened by the noise in the living room, I questioned if I locked the front door or not – I did.
Why do we lock our doors at night? I’m guessing it’s because of fear. Fear of the unknown. I’m fearful that my son might sleepwalk out of the house with the door unlocked (Nate talks when he’s asleep. There’s no telling if one of these nights he sleepwalks out of the house!), or maybe fear of a home invasion (which is the most likely reason why we lock our doors).
In Psalm 27, David expressed such confidence in God amidst the threat on his life from the pursuing forces of King Saul and his army in the wilderness. David had so much confidence in God that he expressed:
“The Lord is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the strength of my life;
Of whom shall I be afraid?” Psalm 27:1 NKJV
What can we learn from this experience? David’s confidence in God provided a reason for him to not fear despite the apparent threat on his life. His confidence stemmed from the fact that God is the light that automatically dispels the darkness. And since this is military language (reading Psalms 27:3 provides the context), the Lord also is David’s salvation, or victory or deliverance from his enemies, and lastly, the Lord is David’s stronghold or a place of safety.
In other words, in every “military crisis” that we face in life, God is our Commander-in-Chief, and we can have the confidence that, unlike earthly military leaders, God is in front of the battlefield. This is His battle. We are to carry the marching orders to fight the fight of faith and we are promised of the gospel message that God will provide – always! (see Genesis 22:13; Philippians 4:19; 1 Corinthians 10:13).
Yes, we do need to be responsible for our own well-being and the safety of people around us. That is why I lock my doors at night. But to fear man (or deadly pestilence) more than fearing God is an eternal mistake because it’s akin to loss of life – forever. It’s a spiritual death. Our confidence must rest in God and not man.
Jesus said, “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Matthew 10:28 NKJV
