Whenever I am afraid

henever I am afraid, I will trust in You. In God (I will praise His word), In God I have put my trust; I will not fear. What can flesh do to me? - Psalm 56v3-4

We all know that fear can be debilitating. I have a few things that I am afraid of. I guess my biggest fear is heights. Well, not heights actually, but the fear of falling off of them. I can almost make myself ill just by thinking about looking over an edge. I can't even watch a video of someone climbing a tower out in the open air. In fact, I am feeling a little queasy even thinking about it now.

I am also afraid of rats. Those little monsters terrify me. In fact, I don't like any little four legged furry creatures.

We all have these kinds of fears. It is just a part of life and we learn to deal with them or ignore them. We get used to them and they usually are not that bad.

There is yet another kind of fear though. There is that life wrecking, heart stopping, gut wrenching fear of what life is going to bring. It is the fear that comes when we get 'that' phone call or 'that' email that just rocks us to the core.

This is the kind of fear that the psalmist addresses here. He writes that in the times that he is most afraid he will simply put his trust in God as He reveals himself in his word. He knows that flesh and blood can do nothing to him outside of God's will because greater is He that is in him than he that is in the world.

'How can I fear,' the songwriter writes, 'Jesus is near. He ever watches over me. Worries all cease, He gives me peace. How can I fear with Jesus?'

Life is scary. It doesn't get any better as the years roll by. You would think that by the time a guy gets to middle age and been saved 35+ years ho would learn to put his trust in God and not be afraid, wouldn't you?

I think part of the problem is that what I mostly fear is my inability to handle those situations combined with an unwillingness to trust Him.

Lord, remind me in the times that I afraid that there is no need. Help me to trust You instead of myself in those times.