Terror By Night Series

Psalm 91 - Study 15 - Terror by Night

We read in Psalm 91:5-6, “You need not fear any dangers at night or sudden attacks during the day or the plagues that strike in the dark or the evils that kill in daylight.” (BBE)

The part of the verse we will meditate on is that ‘we need not fear any dangers at night.’ Generally during the day we are surrounded by people, are in constant communication with those around and hence may not feel fearful. However, for many at night when they are in bed, as they ponder on various uncertainties, their thoughts are clouded and are often gripped with apprehension. For those of us who have such anxieties or dread that has seized our hearts, God’s word comes to encourage us through this study.

Abraham was fearful too

We read in Genesis 15:1, “After these things, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, Have no fear, Abram: I will keep you safe, and great will be your reward.” (BBE)

We know that Abraham was a great man of God, the father of faith and yet the word of God that came to him was to not be afraid. In the previous chapter we read that Abraham had fought with kings and won an astounding victory. He was an extremely wealthy man who was blessed with abundance of gold, silver, livestock and affluence. However, Abraham did not have a child of his own, and it was this situation that prompted him to be filled with fear and anxiety.

All of us will encounter those circumstances which cause apprehension, but we must learn to overcome these fears. These fears if left unchecked could certainly overwhelm us. There may be some of us who have been blessed much, but often it is a very small need in our lives that will weigh our hearts down. Whenever we are challenged with want of any kind, it often does fill our hearts with fear, especially at night.

The widow who feared starvation

We read in 1 Kings 17:12, “Then she said, By the life of the Lord your God, I have nothing but a little meal in my store, and a drop of oil in the bottle; and now I am getting two sticks together so that I may go in and make it ready for me and my son, so that we may have a meal before our death.” (BBE)

The land in which this widow lived had a severe famine. All that remained with this woman was a little flour and oil with which she decided to gather a few sticks to cook the last meal for her son and herself. That was when she met Elijah, the prophet of God. Imagine her mental state on that night before she met the prophet, when all that she could anticipate was death because of the severe famine.

Many people are challenged with lack during these days, and though they may smile through the day, these fears loom large at night. Uncertainties about the future and questions on how to meet the basic needs of the family cloud their minds.

The Lord’s assurance to Abraham

We read in Genesis 15:2, “And Abram said, What will you give me? for I have no child.” (BBE)

When God told Abraham that He would be to him a shield and great reward, Abraham said to the Lord, ‘What will you give me? For I have no child.’ The thing that troubled Abraham most was the fact that he was growing older and had no child of his own.

Listen to God’s reply in Genesis 15:5, “And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”” (ESV)

The above mentioned verse has deeply impressed my heart. When Abraham mentioned the thing that was lacking in his life, namely a child to call his own, the Lord took him outside his tent. While the tent in which Abraham lived in was small, God had to call him out to look at the vastness of the sky, to remind him that He was the Almighty God who created this vast expanse. God then gave Abraham the assignment to count the stars in the night sky if it were possible for him to do so. If Abraham tried to do that he must have given up in utter despair. God had to reassure Abraham that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars that he beheld in that night sky. From that day onwards, Abraham believed God fully and did not let the fact that he did yet have a child as yet, bother him anymore.