No Fear
There are over 300 verses in the Bible dealing with fear; “Fear not”; “Do not be afraid”… A few examples include Joshua 1:9, Psalm 56:3-4, Psalm 91:4-8, Isaiah 44:8, Matthew 10:31, Luke 12:32, 2 Timothy 1:7, and Revelation 1:17.
As I was reading Psalm 18:4-6 it struck me how David often feared for his life, especially from Saul, who was his own king. This was David – who courageously killed Goliath as a young boy; who fought bravely in battle after battle and was victorious. Not only did he experience fear from Saul, but David pretended to be insane to save his life from Abimelech (Psalm 34). He was threatened by his own son Absalom and was forced to flee (Psalm 3). This mighty man of God – a brave warrior – had seasons of great fear.
I started thinking through other biblical heroes who also experienced seasons of fear. I started with Abraham in Genesis 12:10-13 and again in Genesis 20:2 when he was afraid of being killed so he claimed Sarah was his sister. Moses in Exodus 17:4 states “What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.” Ester 4:16 “…And if I perish I perish.” Elijah in 1 Kings 19:3 “Elijah was afraid and ran for his life.” Peter in Matthew 14:30 “But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, ‘Lord save me!’” All four gospels record Peter’s denial of Jesus due to fear (Matt. 26: 69-74, Mark 14:66-72, Luke 22:55-62 and John 18:15-18, 25-27. Moments of fear seemed to affect them all. Fear can sometimes to overtake us as well.
I love going through the Psalms and listing the character attributes of God. All of Psalm 18, written by David, is a beautiful reminder of the strength and power of God in the midst of fearful circumstances. David lists God as his: strength, rock, fortress, deliverer, refuge, shield, salvation, stronghold, help, support, Savoir, avenger and rescuer.
As we go through our own seasons of fear, in whatever circumstances we find ourselves in, I find great comfort in the history of the heroes of scripture and the reminder of the might and power of God whom we can trust in the midst of the storms of life.
