Every single day we hear of things about which we should be fearful. Some of them make sense: we should make sure we take care of our health, body, mind, and soul, so that life can be good. We should take care when we are driving not to be distracted; we should be sure to lock up our houses and cars; we should eat our vegetables and watch the salt and fat; we should supervise what our kids do online—you know all of these. But then there are proliferating warnings all over the place, and some of them make us paranoid and basically freak us out. Don’t go to this place; don’t visit that neighborhood; don’t talk to strangers, especially this or that kind of stranger; don’t use that kind of cookware; don’t drink the water; don’t trust any number of professions as they are all crooks—and it goes on and on. You and I both know people who are hemmed in and ruled by their fears, and by anger, too. It is a miserable way to live. There is supposed to be more to life with God than being filled with fear.
Our Daily Dwell is kind of an attitude readjustment in response to this problem. The Psalmist says, “The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear?”
If God is light, then my path ahead is easy to see, and if God is my salvation, I will be alright no matter what is on that path. The Apostle Paul (who certainly knew about hard and rocky paths, suffering, and hardship) said something similar: “If God is for us, who shall be against us?” (Romans 8:31)
Jesus himself said, “In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) When I read these short bursts of truth, my fears slip away. Really and truly, if God is my light and my salvation (and He is), whom shall I fear? No one at all! There is no earthly trouble that can take God away from me, or me away from God. To remember God’s truth and God’s sovereignty over all things calms my fears. We dwell with God, and because of that, we fear nothing.