In God, whose word I praise—in God I trust and am not afraid.
Psalm 56:3-4
What is it that causes you to feel gripped by fear?
As I thought about this, my fears are often rooted in an inability to control my circumstances. Feeling powerless to change what is now happening to me or around me or uncertainty about the future can easily lead me down the path of fear or allow me to be consumed with feelings of anxiety. It is in these moments that I need to whisper again the words of Psalm 56...When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. (Psalm 56:3)
I have to remind myself that God is God and He knows what He is going.
The answer to my fears lies in a core conviction of my faith; an unshakable belief in the sovereignty of God -- that He is the Sovereign Ruler of this world and He is sovereign over all the details of my life. And because of that, I can trust Him completely, even when I don't fully understand His ways, even when those details seem to be spinning out of control. I can trust Him in the good times and when the hard times come, when disappoint or uncertainty or loss threaten to overwhelm me.
When our path is filled with obstacles, when the way forward in unclear, when tragedy strikes, when our well-planned world comes crashing down all around us, when you find yourself in a place you never wanted to be, that’s when you discover what you really believe. What you hold to as the core convictions of your faith are revealed during the dark night of the soul. Your theology is revealed at midnight. And if you, like Paul and Silas you can sing praise to God at midnight, when locked in jail, then what have is real and powerful; hold to that faith with all your might -- hold on and don't let go; whatever you do, don't give up.
My friends at Valley when fear threatens to overtake us, may we like Paul, hear the words of our Lord: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. (2 Corinthians 12:9)