“I sought the LORD, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears.”
Psalm 34:4
What a powerful statement about our God: “He delivered me from all my fears.”
Will you take a moment and rejoice with me in our God who answers us, and who delivers us?
What a wonderful God, who is alive and working and moving in hearts and lives and circumstances all around us – in numerous ways we can see and in innumerable ways we can’t. I wonder how many Christ-followers today can say with the psalmist: “He delivered me from all my fears.”
Because there are many things we can fear, aren’t there? Disease. Disaster. Broken relationships. Disability. Crime. Death. Job loss. Change.
And what about the fears we have on our children’s behalf? Danger. Loss of innocence. Illness. Self-abuse. Poor choices. Being bullied. Rejection of God. I could go on and on!
Do you want to claim deliverance from fear?
Oh, but be careful before your “yes” comes too quickly. Because sometimes God’s methods are not what we would choose. Come close and listen hard because one thing you and I must begin to grasp and even embrace is that He delivers us from our fears by bringing us face-to-face with them.
I used to fear unemployment. As a stay-at-home, homeschooling mom of three, I used to wonder what would happen if my husband ever lost his job. Would we be okay?
I used to fear cancer. I used to wonder what would happen if I or someone within my immediate circle received that dreaded diagnosis. Would we be okay?
By God’s grace, I don’t fear these things anymore. But it wasn’t magic. And it sure wasn’t easy.
It was a year-long process through which God tenderly led me through the hardest times of my life.
My husband lost his job. And he got cancer.
And you know what? We’re okay.
No, we’re better than okay. So much better than we were before. We may be a little battle-scarred, but we have been immeasurably enriched in all the ways that matter. I was able to see for myself that because my God is by my side, I will be okay through anything.
It’s powerful to hear this lesson from someone else’s testimony. And it’s inspiring to read about it in a Christian biography. And it’s certainly encouraging to read about it in God’s Word. But it’s a whole new level of amazing when you get to live it. It’s the kind of valuable lesson there’s no price tag big enough for.
I learned by experience that His grace really is enough (2 Cor. 12:9). Enough for cancer. Enough for unemployment. Enough for anything.
And there were probably dozens of reasons why it was good for us to go through that season of unemployment and cancer. But even if it was only this one – He delivered me from all my fears – it was worth it.
Are you in the midst of a trial right now? Are you facing one of your worst fears? Even without knowing your situation, I can say with complete certainty that God is with you every step of the way. He knows, and He cares.
And though He doesn’t cause every trial, He absolutely always uses them. And I pray that when you are on the other side, your testimony will be: “He delivered me from all my fears.”
More posts about times of trial:
When Choosing to Trust God is Hard
*This article was originally posted by Jennifer Clarke at UpsideDownHomeschooling.com. It has been transferred here for archival purposes.
This is what I needed to read, after waking up from a nightmare this morning…. It’s comforting to the soul to remember that God is bigger than anything we could think to fear!
It is, indeed! I’m so thankful for a God who is big enough to handle those things we fear, and also that He’s good enough to want to. Thank you for reading and for sharing, friend.