I Will Not Be Afraid

When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me? (Psalm 56:3-4, NIV 1984).

My Musings – It seems like the things to be afraid of are increasing daily. But for those who are in Christ Jesus, those fears are only temporal. “[If] the Lord is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? [If] the Lord is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1, NIV 1984).

Not just “whom,” but “what” as well. For once we are united in Christ, there is nothing that can separate us from Him. “Who [or what] shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: ‘For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:35-39, NIV 1984).

Note that it reads “in all these things,” not “from all these things.” While “for [His] sake we [may] face death all day long,” there is something much worse that we do not have to face as children of God. Separation “from the love of Christ.” To quote a former U. S. President, “let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.” Simply because in light of our relationship to Christ, fear is unreasonable and unjustified.

My Advice – Don’t retreat, advance. Be “more than a conqueror” by committing your life to Christ and cast aside the need to fear any longer. Until then, “fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.” (Luke 12:5, NIV 1984).