March 28 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Devotional

All of us live with certain fears and know what it means to be anxious and afraid. Some of these fears are unreasonable, others are very understandable. Children as well as adults may be afraid of thunderstorms or creepy little creatures such as spiders, snakes and mice. Some people are afraid of heights, being in a large crowd, confined spaces, water, darkness or germs. Larger fears can paralyze us and cause distress. We procrastinate when making decisions because we fear the implications; we fear rejection, or we fear the future. The thought of having a serious illness or dying is a fear that threatens almost every individual at one time or another.

Just as grief, depression, worry, frustrations, and doubts can trouble the hearts of believers, so can fear. Yet we need to keep in mind that being afraid does not make us less faithful Christians. The Bible gives us numerous examples of people who were afraid. The all-important question is: how do we handle fear? Do we let it paralyze us? Does it keep us from following God’s leading?

Psalm 56 is one of those jewels in the book of Psalms which has strengthened many believers. In this psalm David talks about the way he worked through his fear. Psalm 56 is a prayer of David in which he asks God to frustrate the intentions of his enemies who plot against him and set up an ambush to take his life. Rather than getting upset and losing control David turns to the Lord. He says in verse 3, “Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You.” As he puts his trust in the Lord his fears are laid to rest. Verse 4, “In God (I will praise His word), in God I have put my trust; I will not fear.”

The Lord may bring us into situations that make us afraid so that our trust and dependence on Him become stronger. God placed David on difficult paths, and this bore fruit. David learned to rely on the Lord, his God. Being under fire, David’s faith was tested and purified. Thanks to God’s testing in David’s life, we have Psalm 56 in our Bibles so that we are assisted in coping with our fears. Turning to the Lord, the clouds of fear begin to dissipate in the warmth of the Sun of righteousness. Christ’s love, displayed at the cross, allows us to say with confidence, “Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You.”