We can trust God with our FEAR.

What are you most afraid of in this world? People are fearful of all kinds of things, and we have names for a lot of fears. Arachnophobia is the fear of spiders. Claustrophobia is the fear of tight spaces. There are some weird ones out there as well. Pogonophobia is the fear of beards. Xanthophobia is the fear of the color yellow. Turophobia is the fear of cheese. Nomophobia is the fear of being without mobile phone coverage. Peladophobia is the fear of bald people (I personally don’t like that one). Perhaps the most ironic of them all is phobophobia, a fear of phobias.

Being afraid makes us uncomfortable. But, we’ve got to be willing to get uncomfortable. We have to try some new things and get out of our comfort zone. But that will require trust. There is an illusion that “if I’m comfortable, I will be happy.” But the truth is that happiness comes from fulfilling the purposes that God has for us. When He gets involved, things get disrupted. He is the unchanging changer of all things. God is much more concerned with our character development than He is with our comfort. Trusting is uncomfortable because of fear and uncertainty, and even doubt. That is why we need to build trust this coming year. With God’s strength, we can outpace our fear with trust.

We can trust God with our FEAR.

“When I am afraid, I put my trust in You.” Psalm 56:3

Notice that David did not say “if” but “when” I am afraid. David acknowledges here that he dealt with fear. Because he trusted in God who was on his side, David knew he did not need to fear the opposition he met. He met the opposition of Goliath. He met the opposition of Saul. He met the opposition of his sons. He met the opposition of even God when he failed with Bathsheba. But because his confidence was in God, whose word he praised, he realized that he need not fear. C. H. Spurgeon said, “There is nothing like faith to help in a pinch; faith dissolves doubts as the sun drives away the mists.”

David, the psalmist, laid his problem before the Lord and prayed. Remember, fear can serve as a trigger to deepen our trust in God. What David is telling us is that fear is an opportunity to trust our God more fully. Is your trust level low? Let me encourage you to put your trust in God. Imagine yourself a year from now. I want you to say twelve months from now that you didn’t back down when you got spooked; that you didn’t let fear force you to miss out on what God has for you. So, what thing might you be afraid of this year? What might happen that would cause you to feel fear? And how will you respond?

“When I am afraid, I put my trust in You.” Psalm 56:3

We can trust God with our FEAR.