Tuesday, July 7 — God Delivers from All Fear

Some fears are waiting for you at the edge of the morning, before the coffee's even poured. David knew that kind of fear — and he knew what to do with it.

Psalm 34:1-9 — KJV

1 I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. 2 My soul shall make her boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. 3 O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together. 4 I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. 5 They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed. 6 This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. 7 The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them. 8 O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. 9 O fear the LORD, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him.

Psalm 34:1-9 — WEB

1 I will bless Yahweh at all times. His praise will always be in my mouth. 2 My soul shall boast in Yahweh. The humble shall hear of it, and be glad. 3 Oh magnify Yahweh with me. Let us exalt his name together. 4 I sought Yahweh, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears. 5 They looked to him, and were radiant. Their faces shall never be covered with shame. 6 This poor man cried, and Yahweh heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. 7 Yahweh's angel encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them. 8 Oh taste and see that Yahweh is good. Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. 9 Oh fear Yahweh, you his saints, for there is no lack with those who fear him.

Explanation

There's a story behind this psalm, and it's not a triumphant one. The heading tells us David wrote it after a terrifying close call — on the run, cornered, so desperate that he pretended to be insane to save his own life. This isn't a song composed from a comfortable study. It came out of a man who knew real fear in his body.

That's why verse 4 lands the way it does: "I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears." Notice David doesn't say God removed every threat. He says God delivered him from his fears. The circumstances and the feelings are two different things, and God meets us in both — but often the feelings come first.

The psalm moves outward from there. "This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him." "The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him." And then the invitation that has comforted believers for three thousand years: "O taste and see that the LORD is good." Taste and see. Don't just take someone's word for it. Try him. Bring him the actual fear and watch what he does with it.

This is our second step toward Sunday's lesson on Peter, and it's a needed one. Before we watch Peter grow from weakness to strength, we have to be honest that strength starts with fear handed over, not fear hidden. Peter's failures came when he trusted his own nerve. His strength came when he finally learned to seek the Lord first.

Most of us are experts at managing fear rather than surrendering it. We carry the worry about the diagnosis, the kid who isn't doing well, the bill we can't quite cover, and we keep it running quietly in the background like an app we never close. We function. We cope. But David offers something better than coping. He offers seeking.

Seeking is not complicated. It's the cried-out prayer in the car before you walk in. It's naming the fear out loud instead of letting it rattle around unnamed. It's the small, stubborn decision to "taste and see" — to test whether God is actually good in the middle of the thing you're afraid of, instead of waiting until the fear passes to find out.

The humble hear this and are glad, the psalm says. Not the people who have it all together. The humble — the ones honest enough to admit they're afraid and bring it to God anyway.

Thought for the Day

Name the fear. Then seek the One who outsizes it.

Reflection Question

What fear have you been managing instead of bringing to God?

Prayer

Lord, you know the fears I carry quietly and never quite hand over. Today I want to seek you instead of just managing them. I bring you the worry by name, and I ask you to deliver me from all my fears. Let me taste and see that you are good. Amen.

This week we walk toward Sunday's lesson: Simon Peter, From Weakness to Strength.