Theme: “I’m no longer a slave to fear…For I am a child of God”
Text: Psalm 34
“I sought the Lord,... he delivered me from all my fears, all my worries, and all my troubles”.
1. PSALM 34:1-7 HE DELIVERED FROM ALL MY FEARS
Illustration: An airplane was going through very rough weather and turbulence. The Airhostess instructed all the passengers to be careful and fasten their seat belts. The turbulence increased, the plane was going up and down people were shouting and crying. A boy was very cool and not worried about the situation. Finally, the plane landed. Many asked that boy why you were not afraid of the situation. He told them “The Pilot of this flight is my DAD”.
Now our Life journey is also with turbulences. Nearly 216 countries and regions have affected by ‘Coronavirus Disease’. So, much a threat to life. The situation demands Social distancing, self-isolation, and quarantine. This COVID-19 made everyone untouchable. There is a fear of death and fear of disease. The new quotations of present days are: “Divide we stand, unite we fall”. “Stand lonely to stay healthy”. In this context, the LORD would like to guarantee all of us, that “GOD IS WITH the US”, Jehovah Shammah.
We are more familiar with the word “Phobias”. Fear of anything and everything. Fear is a common emotion in the human body, and it leads to instability, unhappiness, sometimes even death. Fear is an enemy of faith. Fear is one of the by-products of modern life, and no one could avoid it. “It saps spiritual vitality, and it can paralyze the soul.”(Harold S Martin).
John Bunyan, in his Pilgrim Progress, records an interesting incident that at one point he met with two Roaring Lions blocking on his way to the heavenly city. Christian was afraid to take the further step, but, with courage he moved on, when he reached very near to the Lions, he found that the Lions were chained by God. How often, we are afraid of the chained, defeated, powerless issues over us. God has confined and cramped them already.
The Psalmist says “When I am afraid I will put my trust in you” (Psalm 56:3). Psalm 46:1-3 “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear though the earth gives way. Still, the mountains are moved into the heart of the sea, and though its waters roar and foam, and though the mountains tremble at its swelling.” Psalm 91:4-5, “He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings, you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day.” Mathew 10:31 “Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.”
Take courage and have great faith and confess with an unmovable trust in the Almighty God and say: “THOU ART WITH ME”, Even though I walk through the valley of death, I fear no evil” Psalm 23:4. A VALLEY is a deep, narrow, dark ravine, extremely perilous and cheerless to walk through. They are cleft between the mountains (Deuteronomy 8:7, 11:11, and Psalm 104:8). Giants used to live in the valleys to terrify the sojourners and rob them (Joshua 15:8). According to the Jewish understanding, the Valley of Mount Carmel is known as the Valley of Death-Shadow.
Hebrews 9:27 says “Man is destined to die once and after that to face judgment”. Ecclesiasticus 8:8 warns “No one has power over the day of his death”. Job 30:23 tells “Death is appointed for all the living”. Psalm 49:10 Says “all wise men, foolish and senseless will die one day”. So, death is unavoidable and it is fixed for all of us.
Fear weakens a person, leads to defeat and death. Courage and confidence lead to victory. We should not have fear of death, rather, safeguard the Temple of God, which is our BODY. The full life has to be lived by every person for the purpose, it has created for. The promise given to God’s children was “No plaque shall befall you” (Exodus 12:13). Psalm 91 gives such great comfort to all of us during the times of Plagues.
2. PSALM 34:8-14 HE DELIVERS FROM ALL MY WORRIES
Fear leads to worry. We are worried about tomorrow’s food, cloth, and shelter. Jesus Christ mentioned these things in Matthew 6:25-34. Jesus has taught his disciples and followers of Christ must not worry about tomorrow (Matthew 6:34 a) but work for the given day. In this passage, the word worry is used by Jesus six times (Matthew 6:25, 27, 28, 31, 34. a, 34. b). So we must care for a day and work for that day and not worry for a given Day. God has given us “One Day” at a time in our hands. Let us make use of that precious day with the providence of God, with prayerful planning, execute it, according to the will of God, with the power of God, and with the guidance of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 6: 34. b).
Paul Johannes Tillich (a Lutheran Theologian, German-American, lived from 1886 to 1965) wrote about three types of worries: First, is a worry about fate and death. The second is a worry about two feelings. The feelings are about two lacks. First, feeling of Lack of inner satisfaction, and secondly, feeling of a lack of meaning for life. The third is a worry about being guilty and deserving punishment. The Greek word for worry is ‘merimnao’ it refers to “to be apprehensive, be anxious, be unduly concerned”. The English dictionary definition of worry refers to, "mental distress or agitation resulting from concern, usually for something impending or anticipated, anxiety”.
Dr. Ralph F. Wilson says, ‘Anxiety, worry, fret, distress, agitation, tension, irritability are the expression of a person’s present and future conditions of himself and his loved ones. These are the parameters to test our trust in God. We must be aware of the importance and impotence of the Worry. More focus on worries and cares leads to the destruction of faith and trust. The destructive anxiety eats faith, brings unrest to the soul, deprives sleep, robs present peace, satisfaction, and joy, and propels us into a mythical future, consumes our present joy and satisfaction in God, and misleads our direction for future steps (ref. Site:Jesuswalk.com).
Worry cannot change anything in life but Trust and prayer change things, change the course of life directions. Do not anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer, petitions, and with thanksgiving present your request to God, even cast all your anxieties on God because he cares for you and he knows the ‘necessities of life are needed for all of us. Then turn your thoughts from perishable cares to imperishable honorable, noble, and praiseworthy thoughts of God (Read: Philippians 4:6-8 and 1 Peter 5:7). No doubt worry shortens our life and nothing else. So, Willian Barclay says “Let a man give his best to every situation--he cannot give more--and let him leave the rest to God” (ref.site:studylight.org).
Billy Graham once said, “Many of you are filled with a thousand anxieties. Bring them to Jesus Christ by faith…I am learning in my own life, day by day, to keep my mind centered on Christ; the worries and anxieties and concerns of the world pass and nothing but ‘perfect peace’ is left in the human heart.” He said he has overcome by Regular Bible reading of the Word of God as per Psalm 119:165: “Perfect peace have those who love Your law, and nothing causes them to stumble”. Then praise God for everything as Psalm 34:1 and in Psalm 136. Then prayer: Through prayer, we enter God’s presence and experience a deeper fellowship with Him and praise allows us to express our adoration and thanks to God (allaboutseniors.org).
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your heart and your minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6-7). Observe the words used by Paul: about anything, in everything, and all understanding.
3. PSALM 34:11-22 DELIVERS FROM ALL TROUBLES
Fears lead to worries and worries lead to troubles. As we struggle to live out the life of faith, we have a God who knows us, knows our problems, knows our failures, knows our needs. God provides good news for whatever bad situations we are going through, namely, unemployment, depression and serious illness, doubt, fear, loneliness and we can add on. Exodus 14: 19 the Lord is traveling with you: Travelling Angel of God refers to the divine presence, manifested in the pillar of cloud and fire.
Exodus 14:25 the Lord is fighting for you: Pharaoh had best chariots (Exodus 14:7), the officers, soldiers, armies were marching boldly against the Israelites (Exodus 14:8), the Egyptian horses, chariots, horsemen, and troops pursued and overtook the Israelites (Exodus 14:9). The Israelites looked up and Egyptians were marching after them. Be a passive person. Be silent with expectation.
The Egyptians shouted let us flee, Yahweh is fighting for the Israelites (Exodus 14:25). The rain, thunders, flashes of lightning, and hailstones came from the heaven as artilleries of God (Gill Exposition), and added to that it was night, all these had put the Egyptian horses and its riders into a great panic.
When God fights for us he will fight to assure victory. Pharaoh had pursued them with six hundred trained men; in fact, they were bodyguards of the Pharaoh. But Israelites were untrained, unarmed, unaccustomed to warfare. So they terrified about the enemy camp. Pharaoh thought the Israelites were wandering in confusion (Exodus 14:3).
God knew what they needed, God knew what they were going through, and then God came up with good news for their bad situation. Exodus 14:30 He has delivered you: Be still and see the salvation of the Lord. Jewish history always mentions it. Their praises had always referred to this act (Psalm 114:3, 106:9, 136:13). Likewise, it is equivalent to our Baptism in Christ (1 Corinthians 10:1,2). Our first experience with the Lord, our born-again experience is our strength (Isaiah 11:15). We need to remember that moment very often in our lives. As Egyptians had swallowed up, a day will come the non-believers will end up in eternal fire. All that is against you, circumstances, people, and places will have a dramatic change.
Mathew Commentary: We may be in the way of duty, following God, and hastening toward heaven, yet may be troubled on every side. "Stand still," think not to save you either by fighting or flying; wait for God's orders, and observe them. Compose yourselves, by confidence in God, into peaceful thoughts of the great salvation God is about to work for you. Such a difference there will be between the inheritance of the saints in light, and that utter darkness which will be the portion of hypocrites forever. When the Lord is traveling with you, you are in the light your darkness turned into light, your despair turned into hope.
DL Moody: “Trust in yourself leads to doom and disappointment. Trust in your friends, one day they will die and leave you. Trust in money and it will be taken away from you. Trust in reputation it will be ruined by a slanderous tongue. But Trust in God gives you unbroken intimacy and joy forever.”
Illustration:
Charles Blondin, a famous rope walker, crossed Niagara falls more than 300 times, for the first time he took his manager Harry with him to cross on the rope, He gave his manager the following instructions: “Look up, Harry.… you are no longer Colcord, you are Blondin. Until I clear this place be a part of me, mind, body, and soul. If I sway, sway with me. Do not attempt to do any balancing yourself. If you do we will both go to our death.”
CONCLUSION
“I sought the Lord,... he delivered me from all my fears, all my worries, and all my troubles”.
Now, very confident we can sing:
"Because He lives I can face tomorrow;
Because He lives all fear is gone;
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living just because He lives" (William and Gloria Gaither, 1971).
