God Grant Me Courage for Not Living Afraid Anymore!
Although I do not make New Year’s Resolutions, neither do I frown upon those who do. On the other hand, I DO think it’s GOOD to set aside a time to assess one’s situation in order to make adjustments based on changing circumstances – and the start of a New Year is as good a time as any for doing so.
Since, at our age, daily routines remain pretty much the same old same old, perhaps it would be better for us if we considered adjustments we need to make in attitude rather than activities.
For example, in the psalm we focused on last week, David talked to himself, asking, “Why are you cast down, O my soul?”
Without hesitation, he drew from his own inner resources to come up with the answer – not in the form of a resolution but rather as if he had just experienced a moment of revelation: “Hope in God!”
When Martin Luther found himself at odds with the ecclesiastical system, he - much like David - experienced a revelation that would change not only his life but the entire course of Church History in terms of a Reformation.
Luther’s famous “Theses” tacked onto the door of the Church reflected his self-emancipation from his deep depression caused by outward circumstances over which he had no control. But, from his inner spiritual strength there emerged the courage to face “come what may” – and to face it peacefully not fearfully!
Thus, from the depths of his soul came one of the best loved hymns of the Christian Faith, “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” - based on the 46th Psalm which is composed of three stanzas, each of which depicts one of three Divine Dynamics of a Close Relationship With The Lord God:
(1) A DIVINE PRESENCE – Psalm 46:1-3 . . .
Notice that the psalmist begins where we all must begin – whether it be the beginning of a new year or a new era or a new mind-set – “God is”. . . exists . . . ever-present . . . Eternal . . . a mighty “fortress” in times of battle . . . “our” refuge (protection) in times of trouble.
No specific trouble is mentioned, but to make his point (God always is . . . His presence is all-encompassing . . . God is greater than any calamity that may occur), notice that the psalmist uses the illustration of a worst-case scenario – the End of the World!
Back in the days of my youth, when there were few distractions to lure us into mystical and mythical worlds of our own, and all we had to do was sit around the house and engage in conversation, one of the topics we always got around to was “End of the World” scenarios. I heard some “doozies” - and I must say that I was frightened by some of them.
Even if the world ends devastatingly, says David, do not be afraid because nothing can overwhelm the Lord our God!
The psalmist depicts a second of three divine dynamics of a close relationship with the Lord:
(2) A DIVINE PROMISE – Psalm 46:4-7 . . .
By now in your maturity of understanding the Scripture, you are aware of the Bible’s use of “river” to refer to the “life-giving” aspect of one’s relationship to the Lord. We recall that Jesus offered to the woman at the well “living water”, speaking of himself as the giver of eternal life. (John 4:10-13)
Even if the world as we know it should end, we are comforted by the divine promise of an eternal dwelling place with God. The “water of life” which Jesus gives to all who “drink of it” in the here and now, continues to “flow” throughout eternity in the “holy city” about which the psalmist says, “God is in her midst”.
What better way to speak of the believer’s arrival there than to use a phrase we all are familiar with in connection with lying down to sleep at night: We do so looking forward to the “dawning of a new day”!
My oldest brother, sensing that his departure was near, said, “Remember: When my eyes close for the last time here on this earth, the next time they open will be in heaven.” He believed that “good night” here meant “good morning” there!
Folks, for the child of God, no matter what - whether violence rages or not . . . the earth melts or not . . . physical death occurs prior to Christ’s second coming or not - there is the divine promise that “a stream of eternal spiritual life” flows through our born-again beings just as surely as life-sustaining blood flows through our veins.
Not surprisingly, therefore, the psalmist depicts a third divine dynamic of a close relationship with the Lord:
(3) A DIVINE PEACE – Psalm 46:8-11 . . .
How can we who know and love the Lord our God stay calm in the midst of troubles in our own lives, not to mention threats to our security as a nation?
The psalmist’s answers: “Be still and know that I AM God!” We are children of the Great I AM – the One who always has been, is now, and forevermore shall be! Thus, we HAVE a divine presence . . . a divine promise . . . a divine peace.
It’s so easy for our minds to drift - when the news of threats to our security and well-being as a nation and, therefore, to us as individuals flashes across the TV screen or surfaces in our consciousness when we lie down at night to rest.
Just as easily, though, there comes to a “renewed mind” those reassurances of the Word of God and those remembrances of past experiences when we said to ourselves, “I know what I’ll do. I’ll call upon the name of the Lord . . . reset my mind to think positive . . . set my heart’s desire on things above and not on things below . . . rest my case with the God of peace which transcends all understanding, and guards my heart and my mind.” That is exactly what Horatio Spafford did . . .
Horatio Spafford was a hymnist whose radical trust in God allowed him to write one of the most memorable of all hymns after events in his life so traumatic that no one would have been surprised had he given up and become reclusive.
The first was the death of their only son from Scarlet fever in 1870. Second was the Great Chicago Fire which ruined him financially.
His business interests were further hit by the economic downturn of 1873 at which time he had planned to travel to Europe with his family aboard the SS Ville du Havre.
In a late change of plans, he sent the family ahead while he was delayed due to having to make one last-ditch effort to salvage what he could of his business.
While crossing the Atlantic, the ship his family was on sank after a collision with a commercial fishing vessel, and all four of his daughters died. His wife Anna survived, and sent him the now famous telegram, “Saved alone.”
Shortly afterwards, as Spafford traveled to meet his grieving wife, and, as his ship passed near where his daughters had drowned, he felt inspired to write the comforting words that Philip Bliss would later set to music in a tune which Bliss called Ville du Havre, the name of the sunken ship.
As you listen to the words of Spafford’s hymn, “It Is Well with My Soul”, be inspired to pray this prayer: God grant me courage for not living afraid anymore! Amen.
Footnote: The Spaffords later had three more children and, in 1881, the family set sail for Israel where they founded a group called the “American Colony” whose mission it was to serve the poor.
