August 19, Living in Fear

Today’s reading: Psalms 91-95

“A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you” - Psalm 91:7.

This promise is helpful to recite, but it can be difficult to live out. It’s easy to say that no harm will befall you until there is harm all around you. Then you have a chance to live in the promise of this verse—or panic. This verse is not a license for recklessness or presumption, but it has enabled many believers to combat fear and put themselves in harm’s way to serve and help others in need. I would think this promise of safety also pertains to cancer, heart disease, poverty, germs, plagues, and other maladies and curses of life, which the Lord Jesus died to abolish. An accompanying promise to go with today’s verse is found in Isaiah 53:5: “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.” Do you live in fear of calamity? Do you worry about what may happen and then structure your life to avoid those remote or imminent possibilities? What don’t you do because of fear—not travel, avoid crowds, obsess over what you eat? What do you do because of fear—gulp massive quantities of vitamins, store food and weapons, or read fear-mongering, end-time novels that produce more fear?