The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom should I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom should I be afraid? … I have asked one thing from the Lord; it is what I desire: to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, gazing on the beauty of the Lord and seeking Him in His temple. Psalm 27:1,4 (NIV)
Lord Jesus, it’s freeing to know that we can be completely honest with you. As weak as we know ourselves to be, you know we’re much weaker. As beloved as we believe ourselves to be, you declare we’re much more beloved. Truly, you are the stronghold and safe-haven, oasis and sanctuary of our lives. We don’t have to fear anything or anyone, anytime anywhere.
Our fears don’t look like David’s— “evil doers coming to devour my flesh,” or armies of Philistines waging war against us. Rather, we fear things we can’t control: Like surgery on a loved one and transitions in our workplace, looming decisions and memory challenges, vulnerable children and aging parents, financial stressors and marital messes, a world in crisis and political madness.
Jesus, we’re so glad you are God, and we are not. Foolishly, we think we’d like your sovereignty for 15 minutes. Freely, we come to you right now, acknowledging our fears and affirming you are Lord over everything—our health and hearts. our traumas and delights, our kids and the cosmos, the next minute and all eternity. Fully, we collapse on you, as our only hope and greatest treasure.
Rather than telling you what to do today, we choose to set our gaze on your loveliness and love, Lord Jesus. The clearer we see you, and the more we see of you, the more our fears shrink to their proper size. We trust you. We worship you. So very Amen we pray, in your compassionate and powerful name.
