Remember and live, part II

December 14, 2007

Ps 56:10-11 - In God, whose word I praise, in the Lord, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?

This is a similar verse to yesterdays verse, and poetry often does that. It repeats for emphasis. He repeats the same words “In God, whose word I praise,” and “In God I trust” but then adds, “In the Lord whose word I praise.” The word Lord signifies sovereignty and rule and absolute power. When we understand God’s name and all that it signifies, it can give us confidence to say as David said, “I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?”

Dt 10:17-21 - For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing. And you are to love those who are aliens, for you yourselves were aliens in Egypt. Fear the Lord your God and serve him. Hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name. He is your praise; he is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes.

When we remember our God, the God who is the God of gods and the Lord of Lords, when we remember how he acts and the strength and love and goodness and the necessity of obedience to his commands and his will, it causes us to fear him rightly. When we fear, our fears are right-sized. Man can do nothing to me outside of God’s providential care and concern. That is worthy of our praises.

Remember and live

December 13, 2007

Ps 56:4 - In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?

This verse reminds me of the words of Jesus when he says, “Lk 12:4 - “I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do.” The most important thing about life is where you go after you die. If flesh can not affect that, than according to Jesus and David in this Psalm, there is nothing flesh can do to me. If God is our trust, our fears of man will be engulfed in our fear and trust in God. But, it is His word that gives us this confidence, in that it is the anchor for our confidence, it is the assurance for our peace. We need to allow the Word of God to give us the peace of God.

Jos 4:20-24 - And Joshua set up at Gilgal the twelve stones they had taken out of the Jordan. He said to the Israelites, “In the future when your descendants ask their fathers, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’ For the Lord your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The Lord your God did to the Jordan just what he had done to the Red Sea when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over. He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God.”

There is so much truth in this story about the importance of remembering. The stones were placed so that they people would remember how powerful is the hand of God, and as a result they would fear the Lord. The Words of God are like these stones. The more we remember, the more we spend time learning and listening and exacting change due to the word in our lives, the less we have to fear. If these stones remind the Israelites of the power of God, it changes how they deal with situations in the future. Likewise, if we praise the Word and remember it is in situations, it will change how we deal with fear. We will not need to be afraid.

Trust and obey, there is no other way

December 12, 2007

Ps 56:3 - When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.

This is so simple. Not if I am afraid or questioning why he is afraid, but when I am afraid. Fear is normal and to be expected, but the response is not. If when I feel fear, I allow fear to dominate my thoughts, my actions and and my life, than it is wrong. But, if my feelings of fear, I put my trust in God, my fears can be relieved. It is not accident that the word trust is there. In whom will you put your trust, your dependence when hard times come. Yourself, your friends, your family or your career? Who will you trust? God is the worthy one for your trust, the one who is trustworthy, who is faithful and good, gentle and powerful.

Dt 28:58-59 - If you do not carefully follow all the words of this law, which are written in this book, and do not revere this glorious and awesome name—the Lord your God— the Lord will send fearful plagues on you and your descendants, harsh and prolonged disasters, and severe and lingering illnesses.

The opposite of putting our trust in Christ is putting it in ourselves or our nation or countless other things. Not only does God provide comfort when we are afraid, he also demands that we trust Him. By carefully following all the word of the law, we are revering Him as Lord. The things which cause us fear may come as discipline to help us realize that He is all we need to fear.

A question with an easy answer

December 11, 2007

Ps 49:5 - Why should I fear in times of trouble?

This is a great question for which the answer is simple. We shouldn’t. The answer is such because we have a God who is greater than all our troubles, who is both sovereign over the world and yet very intimate in our troubles. He rules the world and yet knows the hairs of our head. Because he is both faithful and good, we can have confidence in times of trouble that God will use the troubles to mature us and to glorify Him.

Dt 6:13 - Fear the Lord your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name.

Fear the Lord only and serve Him only. In hard times and trouble, we need to hold fast to him as that which is source of our fear.

Fearing God only

December 10, 2007

Ps 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, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. 

This verse is a cause and effect. Because God is our refuge and strength and a present help in trouble, therefore we will not be afraid. If God is not our refuge, our strength or our present help in trouble, than we will fear. There are no circumstances that are big enough that warrant us to fear. Even in the most extreme cases, for example, like the earth gives way, mountains are moved and the water roar and foam. In our most extreme cases, when our world give way, when those things which we thought were unmovable, and our hearts and minds roar with injustice, havoc and anxiety, we can be without fear. We can be without fear if God is our refuge, the one we run to, the one in whose strength we find our strength.

Jos 24:14 - “Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.

When we fear God only, we will have no other Gods before the Lord. Fear comes when our values are threatened, but if we value God above all other things, God will be all we need. We need just be faithful in serving Him and seeking Him out when our world does give way.

Fearing that walks rightly

December 9, 2007

Seeking God as the cure for fear

Ps 34:4 - I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.

This is a verse you will want to put to memory. There are some great observations here. First, David has many fears like we all do. God delivered David from all fears. God is able to deliver us from all fears. But, the key part of this sentence is the beginning, when David writes, “I sought the Lord.” He will answer but only after we pursue and seek after and go to God with our fears.

Dt 10:12-14 - And now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good? To the Lord your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it.

The only thing the Lord asks of us is to fear God. If we fear Him, we will walk in his ways, we will grow in His love and we will serve him without hearts. But, until we have the proper understanding that God belongs in heaven, and that the world is his, we won’t fear him only.

Setting ourselves to Fear

December 8, 2007

Ps 23:4-5 - Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

(The next week we will be looking at the Psalms. Though the verses do not say, “Do not be Afraid!” they do share about David and others how they dealt with fear. The words of God are inspired and are meant to guide and command us on how we should live, so I included them in the “do not fear” section.

This Psalm by David was written as a shepherd about the great Shepherd who cares for his sheep. The reason that David does not fear evil is directly related to the fact that God is with Him. God uses a rod and a staff to protect and comfort and guide. And in the midst of the threat of evil, God prepares a place of rest and eating and abundance. The comfort of God is comfort enough against all threats of evil and fears.

2 Ch 26:5 - He set himself to seek God in the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God, and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him prosper.

This is the testimony and description of Uzziah the king. If we set ourselves in the direction of fearing God only, of pursuing and embracing all that God is we can confident like David in the shadow of death. God will prosper us in difficult time and terrifying times. He will be our comfort. But, we like Uzziah must set ourselves to be instructed in the fear of God.