Fear Not! A Journey From Fear To Freedomናሙና

  

Choose Life

“My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death assail me. Fear and trembling have beset me; horror has overwhelmed me. I said, ‘Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest—I would flee far away and stay in the desert; I would hurry to my place of shelter, far from the tempest and storm’” (Psalm 55:4–8, NIV). 

This is a Psalm of David, who was a warrior in every sense of the word. He had already killed a giant, a lion, and a bear, so there is nothing unmanly or timid about him. Yet he still had fears, and that is okay. It’s okay for you to have them too; it’s what you do about them that really matters. What David knew is that “perfect love drives out fear,” and because “God is love” He can drive it out (1 John 4:18, 16, NIV). 

David said if he had wings, he would just fly away. Unfortunately, he couldn’t flee the scene like a dove, but what David did do in times of trouble was turn to the Lord, his shelter. David said a few verses later, “Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous fall” (Ps. 55:22, NIV). 

The chances are pretty high that you don’t have wings either, so where do you turn in times of trouble? Acknowledging you have fears is not an indictment on you or your faith; it means you’re human. Just like David, you’re going to face storms in life. When they happen (and they will), you can control your reaction to them by your attitude. 

Chuck Swindoll wrote about attitude: “The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past … we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude … I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.” 

How is your attitude today? There is an old saying, “A bad attitude is like a flat tire; you can’t go anywhere until you change it.” The choice is yours, and you get to make it each and every day. You can choose life or death, faith or fear. “I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live” (Deut. 30:19). 

Prayer: Dear heavenly Father, today I choose life. May I live a life that brings glory and honor to You. Help me to control that one string I can play, my attitude. I will cast all my cares and fears on You, Lord, because I know You will sustain me. In Jesus name, amen.