"Psalms in the Key of Life Series…”
In a fearful time in America, Franklin D. Roosevelt at his first inaugural speech said, "The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself!"
He was speaking of the depression and the prospect of turning the U.S. economy around. Actually, Francis Bacon first said it about 400 years ago in his essay Tribute.
This week, tensions in the Middle East are escalating. Storms related to global warming are getting stronger, not weaker. Add incendiary political rhetoric, and much-to-common school shootings to our daily headlines, it’s tempting to say we have more to fear than fear. Is evil fueling our current fears? What are we going to do?
The writer of Psalm 27—David—would assert that God is greater than our deepest fears and purest evils. In part two of Fighting Your Fears, as part of the bible study series—Psalms in the Key of Life—we will look at seven more principles to help you face the life issues of fear. As King David sat in a cave fearing King Saul’s vengeful pursuits, he realized his fearful times required deeper faith in the God of his salvation. We pick up at Psalm 27: 7.
KEY VERSES: 7 Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me. 8 When thou said, “Seek ye my face”; my heart said unto thee, “Thy face, LORD, will I seek.” 9 Hide not thy face far from me; put not thy servant away in anger: thou hast been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation. 10 When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up. 11 Teach me thy way, O LORD, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies. 12 Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies: for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty. 13 I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. 14 Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.
Psalm 27 Principles to help you face your fears—part II:
Principle 7: Cry to the Lord, not to world because He hears and responds to you. (v. 7)
Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me.
Prayer still works. Make it a part of your daily regimen.
Principle 8: Seek God. Get intimate when you are intimidated. (v. 8)
8 When thou said, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek.
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. He wants a personal relationship with you. Nighttime is the right time to be with the one you love, yes, but even the more the One who loves you.
Principle 9: Be faithful to a God who is more than faithful. (v.9)
9 Hide not thy face far from me; put not thy servant away in anger: thou hast been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation.
God has proven himself in the past. He is not likely to abandon you now. He has been your help.
Principle 10: Be teachable and leadable in fearful times. (v. 10)
10 When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up.
Sometimes it’s better to go around the stump than over it. God will take you along surprising paths in overcoming unexpected obstacles and disappointing relationships who abandon when your need them the most.
Principle 11: Seek truth, and the truth shall set you free from your fears. (Psalm 27: 11, John 8:31)
11 Teach me thy way, O LORD, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies.
Sometimes the answer to your fears is simple. Follow the truth.
Principle 12: Don’t faint, have faith.
13 I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.
Fear saps energy and dissipates strength. Be recharged in the assurance that God is a “Now God”—both a future hope, but a present provider.
Principle 13: Finally, wait for God’s revelation and follow it. (v.13)
14 Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart. Wait, I say on the Lord.
Be patient. To go in advance of the flashlight as you grope in darkness is to ask for a stumped toe. His word is “a lamp unto your feet, a light unto your path.” (Ps. 119:105.) A limp is a poor witness. Wait on the light; be a light to others.
Fear need not consume us. Now is the time to apply proven “Light” principles to your present darkness. A good first step is to commit with pen on paper an application statement. You—with God—is more powerful beyond measure. As the Psalmist David and Poet Marianne Williamson reminds us: We are the children of God. Whom and what shall we fear.
MY APPLICATION SPACE: (write it down and display it where you can see it for thirty days). Based on what I have read, I will do this about my fear of:
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.