Fearless

The LORD is my light and my salvation— so why should I be afraid? The LORD is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble?

Psalm 27:1

As David penned this psalm, he was surrounded by enemies who were set on his destruction. His circumstances were grim. He had good reason to fear, yet he did not fear. He was realistic about his circumstances, but he could look reality in the eye and not blink, because he realized that his circumstances were set pieces on God’s stage. He knew that God was directing the action. He defined his situation in terms of God’s protection instead of in terms of his own exposure to danger. He had already learned what the New Testament writer of Hebrews would teach generations later: “We [run with endurance] by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith” (Hebrews 12:2).

Your mind always needs a reference point to correctly see reality. For example, imagine that you see a photograph of an object, and the object fills the frame. It looks big. Then you see a photograph of that same object held in a person’s hand. Now, with the hand as a reference point, your perception of the object’s size changes. Or imagine that you are in a traffic jam and all around you are big trucks that obscure your view of the horizon. If the trucks begin to move, it will feel as though you are the one moving. When the horizon comes back into view, you will reorient and know that you are sitting still. The horizon is your reference point. Without a reference point, your perceptions are skewed.

Jesus invites you to make his presence your one and only reference point. When you get your eyes locked on Jesus, his presence is your reality. Nothing else seems quite so compelling or so worthy of attention. Jesus fills your frame of reference, and everything else begins to look smaller in comparison.

Are there circumstances that give you good reason to fear? Let the eyes of your heart come to rest on the God who shelters and protects you, who fights for you. Let him be your frame of reference.

Lord, I want to live in the promise of your presence.

Fear is born of Satan, and if we would only take time to think a moment we would see that everything Satan says is founded upon a falsehood.

A. B. Simpson(1843–1919), Canadian preacher, theologian, and author