Why do we fear? Because fear is so natural for us. We fear the disaster that is about to come whether it’s financial problems, cancer, a tornado, a blizzard, or a spin-out sending our car into the ditch. What do you fear?
So far there have been 530 phobia’s officially named. Here are just a few examples from the beginning of the alphabet:
Alektorophobia- Fear of chickens.
Amaxophobia- Fear of riding in a car.
Arachnephobia or Arachnophobia- Fear of spiders.
Automatonophobia- Fear of ventriloquist’s dummies, animatronic creatures, wax statues - anything that falsly represents a sentient being.
Aviophobia or Aviatophobia- Fear of flying.
Bolshephobia- Fear of Bolsheviks.
Batrachophobia- Fear of amphibians, such as frogs, newts, salamanders, etc.
Bibliophobia- Fear of books. (many students have this fear)
Botanophobia- Fear of plants.
Fear is basically the idea that something bad is going to happen to you or your loved one – something that will cause either physical or emotional pain. It’s the belief that danger is lying right ahead of you on the path.
What do people do to avoid fear? Almost anything! Run! Hide! Quit. Break off relationships. Change careers. Why? Because we sense danger. We must preserve our lives. We must avoid pain at all costs. The fact is that fear itself has a horrible impact on us and on our health: high blood pressure, nervous breakdowns, ulcers, headaches, blurred vision, lack of sleep, lack of concentration.
David experienced many fears as revealed in Psalm 27. He had many seeking his downfall - evildoers, adversaries, enemies. But he overcame his fears. Verse 1 says: “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life; whom shall I dread.” How did he overcome it?
In Psalm 27 we find David facing fears and winning over them. What was the secret of his success? He put his eyes where they belonged – he sought the Lord instead of his own strength.
“One thing that I ask from the Lord, that I shall seek…” “The Lord is the defense of my life whom shall I dread?” We focus our eyes on the one person who can deal with any problem and any issue in our lives, the one who is powerful – the Lord God.
When does fear come? When we take our eyes off of the Lord and who we are as his child. We remember Peter walking on water with the waves and the wind? He stopped looking at Jesus and that’s when fear creeped in and his started to sink. It’s totally the opposite of faith.
When shrinking in fear, for some reason we feel that we are on our own – God won’t help us with this one and all the disaster will fall. And we lose our faith and trust in God. Ultimately, we believe the problem is too big for God.
Other times we might know that God is big enough to handle our problems, but God isn’t going to help us on THIS one. We deserve to fail and fall and suffer! If I go out and rob a store, I ought to be afraid – because judgment is coming. Every time I sin, fear ought to be before my eyes. Because I’m standing face to face against God! What is the solution? REPENT. That kind of fear should always lead to repentance. And when we repent we know that God is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us. There may be consequences of our sins, but God will see us through it as we repent.
Let’s go back to David and how he dealt with the attack of fear. He turned to the Lord God and he did so in three concrete ways and we need to learn the same ways for ourselves.
First, in moments of fear we need to seek the presence of the Lord. Verse 4a: “One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.”
David isn’t requesting to actually live in the temple just like we wouldn’t request to live in this church building. He wants to be in the presence of the Lord every day of his life. Never have to leave or fall away. The house of the Lord is not just a building but the place of worship, of fellowship, of God’s presence.
The scripture says in Romans 8:38-39 “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” No one can take our relationship with the Lord away from us. On the other hand, we can choose to walk away from God and his love and protection. David could decide that he doesn’t want to dwell in the house of the Lord….the most precious thing in life, is to know that the Lord is present in your life - that you are not alone. That he is there with you.
God takes care of his own. If you trust in Christ as your Lord and have invited him to be your Savior, then you are in his household. God takes care of his family.
The second way to seek the Lord in moments of fear is with our eyes – to see his beauty. David wrote that he desires “to behold the beauty of the Lord.”
If we lived at David’s time and if you were a priest, you would be able to enter into the tabernacle and you would behold beauty: the golden menorah crafted out of pure gold, the golden table for showbread, the incense altar wafting sweet smells into the air. You would see the multicolored walls covered with the images of angels and then beyond the veil would be the ark of the covenant – a rectangular box overshadowed with the wings of the angels. It would be an awesomely beautiful sight. But that is not what David is talking about here. You see, these are merely symbols of God’s beauty – reminders of how beautiful God is.
In fact, wherever we see anything beautiful, it should be a reminder of the beauty of God – for God is the author of beauty. As one writer says: “Beauty is the scent of God on the universe, a keyhole-peek of the kingdom in the here and now and a sonogram of God’s own heart.” (Sweet, Jesus)
What is the beauty of God reflected in the world? David didn’t see with his eyes but with his heart he saw the attributes of God. What does that mean? God’s character. He was beholding God’s love, mercy, patience, eternity, goodness, wisdom, power. He was looking into the heart of who God was and it was only pure beauty.
You see, when you look at the power of God – our earthly fears seem so very small. When you look at his love – all fear is cast out because pure love destroys fear. When you look at his eternity – fear is gone because you see the problems of this moment as such a brief point in time. Discover who God is and worship him in his splendor and beauty and fear is conquered!
So in moments of fear we seek the Lord by DWELLING in his house and by LOOKING upon his beauty in worship and finally in moments of fear we fill our mind with His thoughts. David wrote that he desires to “inquire in his temple.”
To overcome fear, our mind must be transformed by the mind of God. We must think the thoughts of God about the situation in our life and about the world around us. We need to see it from His perspective.
Meditation is the key to knowing the mind of God. Meditation sounds like a new age concept or maybe to something that monks would do in a monastery. But it should be a normal part of our day. Psalm 1:1-2 “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.”
Meditating comes from the word meaning “to mutter, to murmur.” It most likely comes from the fact that mediation on the word involved repeating to yourself the words of the Lord – you would mutter them back to yourself. If you’ve ever tried to memorize Scripture you find yourself doing that very thing.
Basically the idea when we meditate is that we let the living Word of God echo in our mind over and over again. Like a diamond, we look at every facet of it and examine its beauty. As Bill Gothard once said, the words of Scripture “contain eternal wisdom within the shell of human words. God wants us to break open these words and begin to discover the rich wealth of personal application and understanding which are in them. ”
Have you ever found yourself humming a tv commercial all through the day – you just can’t get it out of your mind no matter how hard you try. That’s kind of like what we are to do with the Word of God. We let it rumble around in our mind all through the day. That’s why a quiet time with the Lord is so crucial because it sets God’s word in our mind in motion for the rest of the day.
And when God’s thoughts our filling our mind, our own thoughts of fear are stilled and quieted. Our fears are confronted with the truth of God’s Word.
What does the Lord promise to us as we dwell in his house, as we look at his beauty, as we meditate on his word?
He promises security: Verse 5 - “For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle; In the secret place of His tent He will hide me; He will lift me up on a rock.”
There is no greater security for us than when we are in God’s hands. Much of fear comes out of a feeling that there is no safety – danger. But with the Lord there is always security. Even if you become sick – God will see you through it. Even if you lose your property – God will provide. Even if you lose your friends – God will provide new ones. Only God can provide the security that we need. He’s the best insurance policy there is!
He promises honor: Verse 6a - “And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me,”
We are totally undeserving of God’s grace – and yet he lifts us up to a place of honor and blessing. The enemies of God are totally lost. But those who seek the Lord are honored. We are made royalty – children of the King!
He promises joy in place of fear as we come in his presence: Verse 6b - “And I will offer in His tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD.”
The result of beholding God’s beauty day after day can only be worship. A person cannot be exposed to the awesomeness of God and not worship. You have to have your eyes closed not to do so. Notice that David isn’t bringing sacrifices for sin. He is sacrificing out of praise – probably a peace offering which was shared fellowship.
Are you burdened with fear? Then I have some questions for you:
Have you confessed and received the forgiveness given through Christ?
Have you given your life into the Lord’s hands and dwell in his house?
Have you looked on the beauty of the Lord and worshipped him?
Have you meditated on his word?
Why not? Only blessings come as we do so!
Begin this new year by conquering fear by living out Psalm 27:4. You may want to memorize that very verse as a constant reminder of God’s promises.
When fears arise, we look to the face of the Lord and simply surrender control admitting: “God is in control!” That frees us up doesn’t it? If God is for us, then who can be against us? Even suffering, difficulties and sorrows that arise will ultimately be resolved – God will turn it around somehow. He takes care of his own. Deuteronomy 31:6 "Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the LORD your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you."
What’s the worst that can happen to you? You still have an inheritance with the Lord that cannot be taken away. Nothing can separate you from God’s love. You have an “inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven” (1 Peter 1:4) Keep your eyes on Jesus and remember those promises which no one can take away from you and God will turn the situation where fear is reigning into a glorious time of peace, of honor, of joy in God’s presence! Don’t you want that instead?
