Psalm 56:4–In God I Trust

Psalm 56:4–"In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid."

Fear is a real, very human thing that every person experiences.  It could be the fear of paying the bills, or the anxiety of relationships, whatever the fears may be we all deal with them.  Sometimes fear can be so overwhelming that it feels asphyxiating.  It is at these times, though, when all of life seems to fall like a great dark cloud over our lives that we should remember and apply the words of this verse.

I shall not be afraid.

Why?

Because my trust is in God and His word.

Amen.

Psalm 24:14-15–The Friendship of the Lord

Psalm 25:14-15–"The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear Him, and He makes known to them His covenant.  My eyes are ever toward the Lord, for He will pluck my feet our of the net."

Throughout the Scripture, the fear of the Lord is a major topic.  The fear of the Lord forms the backbone for wisdom and the basis for all Christian life.  It is then no wonder that it is those who fear the Lord that are blessed with the knowledge of His covenant.  In truth, the fear of the Lord is the heart of the Gospel.  Because of this, it is a good thing for us to spend some time considering the fear of the Lord so that we would assess our own place but also that we would strive to fear Him in reverence and fear.  This is our call; this is our goal.

Hebrews 10:31–It is a Fearful Thing

Hebrews 10:31–"The Lord will judge His people.  It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."

The fear of the Lord forms the basis for knowledge and wisdom (Psalm 111:10; Proverbs 1:7; 9:1). And often this fear is rendered as reverence.  And while this is true, we should not forget or neglect the terror element to the fear of the Lord.  In a real sense, wisdom is based as much on reverence for the Lord as it is our intense fright at His power and justice.  Recognizing who God is with all His Presence, His Power, His Wisdom, His Creativity, and His Justice is, among many things, a terrifying thought. Perhaps this is one of the reasons that many would rather neglect His presence altogether, for to accept His presence is to face the Holy One in light of our own unholiness.  This is the fear of the Lord and this is why it truly is a fearful thing to fall into His holy hands.

Relying on the Lord in times of Fear

Jonathan and Susan had been married for over a decade when Jonathan was offered a promotion from his company.  The Job was considerably more salary and benefits, and was simply too-good to refuse.  Unfortunately, the new position required Jonathan to be traveling three or four days a week.  Although they were apprehensive, after some prayer and counsel, it became clear that God had prepared this career move for the family and Jonathan accepted the position.

For the next several months, Susan had began to grow accustomed to Jonathan being away, though she still missed him greatly when he was on the road.  She would feed the children and put them to bed, always remembering to say prayers.  She had never felt unsafe or unprotected when Jonathan was away, because Susan knew that God was watching over the family.

One night, when Jonathan was away, Susan woke up in a dreadful fear.  She glanced at the clock, which read: 2:00.  She couldn't understand why, but she was simply rigid with fear.  Susan, though an adult, pulled the covers over her head and said a brief but earnest prayer for relief and for protection from her prayers.  She prayed that God would not allow any evil to injure her or her family.  She breathed a couple deep breaths and drifted back to sleep.

When she woke up in the morning, she went downstairs to brew herself a cup of coffee.  She peered out her window and across her lawn to see a police squad car parked in the street in front of her house.  She closed her robe and walked outside to see the neighbor girl who babysat the family's children running towards her.  The teenage girl was so excited that she could barely speak but Susan could pick out that a burglar had robbed three houses on the block last night but that they had caught him.

Susan walked over to the police officer and, after exchanging pleasantries, Susan asked the officer for some clarification of the previous night's foray.  The officer shared that indeed three of her neighbors had been robbed last night and that her house had almost been robbed too but not to fear because they had caught the burglar.  Susan was startled by that and asked for more information.  

The police man said that the burglar had made it to her house after he had robbed the other houses and was about to break her in through the side window when, suddenly, the burglar suffered a minor cardiac arrest and passed out on the ground outside of her house.  She was astonished and asked the officer when that happened. The officer looked at her and said, "Oh, about 2 o'clock."

God had saved Susan's family.  Her prayer had been efficacious and God protected her and her family.  This is incredibly scriptural.  The writer of Hebrews, quoting Psalm 118, writes: "So we can confidentially say, 'the Lord is my helper; I shall not fear; what can man do to me?'"  If, when faced with fear and gripping trepidations, we would turn to God for our support, we will always find that God is there.  Although the above example may seem a bit far-fetched, it is a true story.  God is our fortress and our shield, our ever-present help in times of trouble and need (Psa. 46:1).  Let us then turn to Him when we feel uneasy with fear and find comfort in the shadow of His might!