Driven by Fear

Be merciful to me, O God, for man would swallow me up; fighting all day he oppresses me. My enemies would hound me all day, for there are many who fight against me, O Most High. Whenever 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? All day they twist my words; all their thoughts are against me for evil. They gather together, they hide, they mark my steps, when they lie in wait for my life. Shall they escape by iniquity? In anger cast down the peoples, O God! You number my wanderings; put my tears into Your bottle; are they not in Your book? When I cry out to You, then my enemies will turn back; this I know, because God is for me. In God (I will praise His word), in the Lord (I will praise His word), in God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?Vows made to You are binding upon me, O God; I will render praises to You, for You have delivered my soul from death. Have You not kept my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?

Psalm 56:1-13

Fear shouldn't drive you to safety, it should drive you to God.

When your enemies oppress you to swallow you up, you are driven to action. You are either driven to fight or run away from the oppression or you are driven to trust in God. God calls you to be still and know that I am God. Even in the midst of trouble you can remain unmoved when you rest in an unmoving God. Unless God is where you turn to when life happens, you will be constantly tossed to and fro by every happening of life. You could fret about events that cause your life to be spent and pull your hair out in anxiety, or you can trust a God who numbers your hairs and bottles up each tear your cry. Life will cause you to either rest in your anxiety or in your trust in God.

Do you want God to join you or do you want to join God?

Fear exposes your allegiances. In times of trouble, you will either ask God to join you in your reaction to fear or you will set aside your natural reactions and join God. If you have decided to join Jesus, you should not be driven by the chaos of fear. “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear,” (1 John 4:18a). If you have joined God in love, you will not be moved though the mountains shake. When you have only asked God to join you, your fear will guide you. If you have joined God, you will have nothing to fear. If you have only asked God to join you, your fears will drive you as God’s movements in your life become dimmer and dimmer.

Even Moses waited. Wait so you can hear from the Lord.

“And Moses said to them, “Stand still, that I may hear what the Lord will command concerning you.”” (Numbers 9:8). Moses had a face to face relationship with God and probably knew God better than anyone else. Even Moses waited to hear what the Lord commanded and joined God by not responding without hearing from the Lord. Will you join God and wait on Him before you respond, or will you insist that God joins you as you react to your fears and the happenings of life? Will you let fear run your life as you run to safety or will you let fear drive you to your rest in God?