The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.

Psalm 27:1,3

Fear is an emotion so common to us that we’ve even incorporated lessons about fear into our entertainment. Just think of all of the movie quotes about fear. Here are a few samples:

• Fear is the mind killer (Dune).
• Fear is the path to the dark side (Star Wars).
• Fear causes hesitation and hesitation will cause your worst fears to come true (Point Break).

It’s no wonder really, that fear permeates even our entertainment. After all, the world certainly presents us with things that are frightening: leaders posturing with nuclear bombs, disease outbreaks, devastating storms, inflation…

How is it that any of us get through the day without massive anxiety or depression?

From what I’ve seen and read, a good many people don’t. They live in a constant cycle of fear, doubt, and defeat.

At different times in my life, I get caught in that cycle too. Honestly, my fears and doubts are something that God and I work through quite a bit. So much so in fact that God has placed a dear heart in my life to remind me frequently not to focus on fear and not to listen to those internal voices of doubt and self-criticism.

Sweet friend, it’s taken a long time, but I recognize now that I don’t have to fall victim to fear, doubt, or defeat. And neither do you.

Consider how the disciples must have felt when their ship was being rocked by a terrible storm. They didn’t know what to do and were really panicking and there was Jesus, asleep in the ship, undisturbed. When they woke Him, they cried, “Lord, save us; we perish.” and Jesus asked, “Why are you afraid? O you of little faith.” and then He rebuked the wind and the sea and all was calm (Matthew 8 ).

Sweet friend, the disciples didn’t realize it, but Jesus’ presence was protecting them all along. With their eyes on storm, they were distracted from the fact that the Son of God was right there.

They had no need to panic or fear or even to wake Him; they needed only to trust in the Lord.

The psalmnist wrote in Psalm 27, “The Lord is my light and my salvation – so why should I be afraid? The Lord is my fortress protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble?”.

Dear heart, we could allow ourselves to become entangled in the worries and fears of this world, become depressed by the overwhelming odds, live a life constantly on edge, waiting for the other shoe to drop, BUT God, God tells us we don’t have to do that.

God’s promises give us assurance that come what may He will protect us, that His plans for us are good to prosper us and not harm us (Jeremiah 29:11, John 14:27, Joshua 1:9, Isaiah 41:10, Deuteronomy 31:8, Exodus 14:13-14, the list goes on and on).

With such assurances, God provides the strength and the courage to get up each day and face its challenges, to push back against fear and the troubles of this world one step at a time, one day at a time.

Imagine how grand the world would be if every person trusted God and shook off their fear and focused instead on loving others and serving others.

• If we no longer feared for our own bellies, or our own wallets, we could end world hunger.

• If we no longer feared that we wouldn’t have the “nicest” things, we could ensure that everyone on Earth had enough things to be clothed, sheltered, and fed.

• If we no longer feared tomorrow, we could focus on making today better than yesterday.

There is no end to what we could accomplish if we would just trust in the Lord and allow Him to break the chains of fear that seek to bind us.

Beloved, let us give thanks to God who delivers those who trust in Him! Let us shout for joy at the freedom we have found from fear and doubt! Great is our Father who secures our souls and also my lives! Wonderous is the Lord who offers salvation and freedom to all who will accept!