Fear - SE StudentsSample

We’re all afraid of something. If someone says they have no fear, they’re probably lying. Fear is actually a normal and healthy response to certain things in life. If we didn’t have a healthy level of fear, we would walk right into oncoming traffic, step carelessly off of dangerous cliffs, or touch burning flames in a fire. Our bodies are built to have natural reactions to fear, but only to a certain extent. When we have fear, our heart rate as well as our blood pressure, increases, our pupils dilate, our muscles tense up, and nonessential systems in our body can shut down to allow the essential systems to function. These things help your body in a dangerous situation to either run or fight for your life—this is where we get the term “fight or flight.” 

Sometimes running from our fears looks a lot like hiding, which is where we find David in Psalm 27. He spent a good portion of his time running and hiding from his enemies. 

Let’s first address in a healthy way what we are afraid of. David was being directly chased down by enemies who were trying to kill him. An actual army was out looking for him. While you might not have an army chasing after you or someone seeking your life, fear can feel like an army attacking you from the inside. 

Sometime today, consider what you’re afraid of, and talk to God about it. We have to recognize what our fears are and acknowledge them so that the enemy can’t use them against us. We will spend more time this week looking at how we can trust God with those fears.