Good Monday to you! I don't know where you are right now but where I live the land is covered in a glaze of ice and schools are on delay. A good day to settle in and listen...
And it was David's life speaking again today. When I was beginning to study and write this series I hadn't anticipated spending so much time in David's life, but here we are. And today his heart spoke to mine as he said:
"When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?"
Psalm 56:3-4
It would be easy to nod my head in agreement and say, "Amen, David, amen." But he was a military man. Surely he knew what the flesh could do to him! I watch the news (although more rarely as the days go by) so I'm aware as well. Since this Psalm appears to be born out of being seized by the Philistines I'm writing on the assumption that David is talking about the flesh of another, not his own. And the flesh of others can kill, condemn, injure, abuse...
For some people their biggest fear may be death. Or public speaking. Or heights, illness, spiders, flying, the death of a loved one, __________________ (place your fear here).
My biggest fleshly fear is in the flesh of another. That my daughter would be taken from us. More than injury to her body or even death I fear that a stranger may come, slither away with her, and she would be lost, terrified, without comfort, wondering why we don't come for her. That she would be living a life of fear with people who don't value her life or let her know love. This simple thought stirs in my belly and has the potential to drive me to panic.
But each time God reminds me that he works for the good of those who love him and have been called according to his purposes (Romans 8:28).
God is David's comfort as well. He says:
"You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book? Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call. This I know, that God is for me. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?"
Psalm 56
Once again David is able to let go of his momentary fear to place it in the One he can trust. God is for him! What can man do to him?
Like I said before, man can do a lot. And he can do a lot of harm. We could live in worry of that every day. What a sad life that would be.
God has something much better planned for us. Trusting in him doesn't mean all will be well in our own little world. We are not untouchable, unbeatable, or indestructible. Sickness, sin, and evil are part of our fallen world and it is where we live. It's where we choose to place our fear and our trust that enables us to live in freedom while we are here.
We could trust in ourselves, assume full responsibility for our family's health and safety, and feel monumental guilt when we fail. We could live in fear every day of what might happen and miss out on all of the good gifts God has for us in the time we are here.
Or we could respond as David does:
"For you have delivered my soul from death, yes, my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of life."
Psalm 56:13
If we are followers of Christ then He has delivered our souls from death already. Truly, when we trust in Him, we need not fear man, for what can He do to us? Nothing can separate us from the love of God through Christ Jesus.
When that fear of losing my little one creeps in I don't dwell or entertain the possibilities of what could happen. I turn my heart toward Him, I pray, and I trust His will. That even if my worst temporary fear becomes reality He will work for our good somehow. And I have peace once again.
Do you want to walk with us in the light of life? Is there a worry or fear you need to stop entertaining so you can enjoy this freedom? Jot a note in the comment box below so we can lift each other up in prayer!
Father, once again we ask that our only fear would be placed in the glory of you. When we begin to fear man and the things of this world, by the power of your Holy Spirit would you stop us in our thinking and bring to mind your word that brings a peace that passes all understanding. Let us encourage each other and walk together in the light of life...
I'm not the only one participating in 10 Days of Proverbs 31! Check out these blogs and topics:
And it was David's life speaking again today. When I was beginning to study and write this series I hadn't anticipated spending so much time in David's life, but here we are. And today his heart spoke to mine as he said:
"When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?"
Psalm 56:3-4
It would be easy to nod my head in agreement and say, "Amen, David, amen." But he was a military man. Surely he knew what the flesh could do to him! I watch the news (although more rarely as the days go by) so I'm aware as well. Since this Psalm appears to be born out of being seized by the Philistines I'm writing on the assumption that David is talking about the flesh of another, not his own. And the flesh of others can kill, condemn, injure, abuse...
For some people their biggest fear may be death. Or public speaking. Or heights, illness, spiders, flying, the death of a loved one, __________________ (place your fear here).
My biggest fleshly fear is in the flesh of another. That my daughter would be taken from us. More than injury to her body or even death I fear that a stranger may come, slither away with her, and she would be lost, terrified, without comfort, wondering why we don't come for her. That she would be living a life of fear with people who don't value her life or let her know love. This simple thought stirs in my belly and has the potential to drive me to panic.
But each time God reminds me that he works for the good of those who love him and have been called according to his purposes (Romans 8:28).
God is David's comfort as well. He says:
"You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book? Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call. This I know, that God is for me. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?"
Psalm 56
Once again David is able to let go of his momentary fear to place it in the One he can trust. God is for him! What can man do to him?
Like I said before, man can do a lot. And he can do a lot of harm. We could live in worry of that every day. What a sad life that would be.
God has something much better planned for us. Trusting in him doesn't mean all will be well in our own little world. We are not untouchable, unbeatable, or indestructible. Sickness, sin, and evil are part of our fallen world and it is where we live. It's where we choose to place our fear and our trust that enables us to live in freedom while we are here.
We could trust in ourselves, assume full responsibility for our family's health and safety, and feel monumental guilt when we fail. We could live in fear every day of what might happen and miss out on all of the good gifts God has for us in the time we are here.
Or we could respond as David does:
"For you have delivered my soul from death, yes, my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of life."
Psalm 56:13
If we are followers of Christ then He has delivered our souls from death already. Truly, when we trust in Him, we need not fear man, for what can He do to us? Nothing can separate us from the love of God through Christ Jesus.
When that fear of losing my little one creeps in I don't dwell or entertain the possibilities of what could happen. I turn my heart toward Him, I pray, and I trust His will. That even if my worst temporary fear becomes reality He will work for our good somehow. And I have peace once again.
Do you want to walk with us in the light of life? Is there a worry or fear you need to stop entertaining so you can enjoy this freedom? Jot a note in the comment box below so we can lift each other up in prayer!
Father, once again we ask that our only fear would be placed in the glory of you. When we begin to fear man and the things of this world, by the power of your Holy Spirit would you stop us in our thinking and bring to mind your word that brings a peace that passes all understanding. Let us encourage each other and walk together in the light of life...
I'm not the only one participating in 10 Days of Proverbs 31! Check out these blogs and topics:
Contributing to family income/2 better than 1
Using time wisely/BlessedBeyondMeasure
Taking care of needy/ Shadow Wonder
Using money wisely/Jennifer Sikora
Keeping an eye on home/Just a Glimpse
Clothed in strength and dignity/One thing I’ve Learned
Taking care of others/ 2 savvy gals
Being Creative/A Patchwork Mommy
Bringing Variety to Family/ Karen Dawkins
Extending your Hand to the Poor/ Women’s Fellowship House
Organization/Teaching what is Good
January Joy Dare: 3 gifts found in Christ...
#248 Freedom
#249 Significance
#250 Love
#251 Husband scraping my car at 5:30am
#252 No need to call in sick
#253 Cough drops, Cold Eeze, Advil, ice cold water, and pillows stacked high
Thank You, Lord, for these.
Hi Friends,
ReplyDeleteI know these posts appear longer than they are. If anyone knows how to shrink the spaces between paragraphs, please fill me in!
Peace.
Be not fearful for your daughter. She is in GOOD HANDS when she is in the hands of Jesus.
ReplyDeleteBy the way: Google has a back arrow to bring you back to the draft page and you can edit the spaces. Hope this helps.
David knew his faith was in God and that he had an eternal home in heaven, so he had NO FEAR of what any person could ever do to him.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your thoughts on fear today! I had those same fears twenty years ago, so much so that I begged my husband to move us out of the city and into rural life in another state. As the years have gone by and I have seen the Lord work in my daughters lives, both grown now, He has shown me over and over again that He is their protector. It was a beautiful journey to go on and, although there were many scary things, I wouldn't trade them today for anything. Not that I live without fear now that they are grown, because I still have to turn them over to Him but He loves them far more and has a greater plan for them than I can conceive. Sorry to be so wordy.....your post just launched me into my past. So many lessons we can learn from David's life!
ReplyDeletewow as i read your post i felt a pain in my chest.
ReplyDeletewhen my little one is away from me, i always say a prayer. my child's safety is probably my number one prayer at the moment. letting God, and letting God is something we must do, but it is not easy.
www.myhappilyeverafteragain.blogspot.com
Wanted to stop and say thanks for visiting from Ann's yesterday. I love to count my graces and share them with other sisters in Christ.
ReplyDeleteI love how open and honest you are in your writing. So much freedom comes from being able to speak openly about what the enemy wants us to conceal. I personally pray Psalm 91:11 over each of my children by name on a daily basis. My 5 and 3 yr old know it by heart and speak it over the baby brother too. There is so much peace in knowing that His truth is proclaimed over their safety.