Freedom From Fear

“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?  The Lord is the defense of my life, whom shall I dread?” (Psalm 27:1).  “The Lord is for me; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” (Psalm 118:6).  We do so many things because of fear of other people.  Consider just how much of what we do is held hostage to the fear of what other people will think of us!  Peer pressure, self-consciousness, and desire for the praise of others forms the motive of so much of our behavior.  How wonderful it would be if we could be rid of this burden!  In order to love and serve and glorify God as the Bible directs us, we must be free from the crippling fear of other people.  Without sincere faith in God we are helpless to overcome such fears.  Scripture gives us an abundance of promises and motives that will nourish our faith; and strong faith in God is the only means of breaking the chains of fear. How did David summon up the courage to face the giant Goliath?  In a sermon on this subject, the Puritan Thomas Lye said, “David’s confidence in God quietly extinguished in his heart the base, sneaking fear of man.”  That is it exactly!  Lye continued: “Let a believer make God his trust, it is enough; he will with a courageous and undaunted mind cheerfully undertake his duty and commit both himself and his success to God.”