Psalm 27: 1-3
The Lord is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the strength of my life;
Of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When the wicked came against me
To eat up my flesh,
My enemies and foes,
They stumbled and fell.
3 Though an army may encamp against me,
My heart shall not fear;
Though war may rise against me,
In this I will be confident.
This chapter speaks for itself! It shows us what it means to know our creator. When David expressed such unwavering faith (in Psalm 27), it was not about his ability. It was about his faith in God. The faith that came out of a intimate relationship with God.
This is the same David who, as young boy, slayed a giant- with a rock and a sling shot. If anyone knows about faith- it’s him.
Oh to be as brave as David.
What we often forget is that the same God who performed those miracles, are alive today- and he is still in the business of showing up! Not being fearful, is about realizing that we serve a mighty God!
Now growing up I was known as the scary kid. At one point I slept in the same bed with one of my sister. I would not go to bed, until she was ready- no matter how sleepy I was. And it was not enough for me to be in same bed, I buried myself underneath blankets and my sister. Sweating bullets, i didnt budge. I was so afraid! Definitely not giant slaying material.
But there were those times- the times that I called upon the name of the Lord God, and he showed himself strong and fearless, despite me.
I remember once when I was about 19 years old, I worked as a customer service representative. There was one coworker who stood about 5’11” to about 6′ tall and pretty sturdy. We will call this girl G.G. for Goliath Girl. Me? I stood about 5’5″ tall and pretty scrawny. We will call me- well you know what to call me.
G.G. and I started off as friendly coworkers. She would tell me her problems and I would give her advice. Well, I was a little naïve- I thought I could give people advice and fix their problems.
As time went on, G.G became more of an enemy. She was determined to eat me for dinner- so to speak! It progressed to more like bullying. She even asked me to meet her at a park, so she could beat me up. I had a mouth to defend myself, but no muscle. So…no way was I going to take her up on that offer.
I could tell you of many more examples, but there is not enough time. I wrote a letter to my supervisor. Eh- not much happened. G.G. was a top seller and that’s what mattered.
It got to a point – I hated going to work!
One Sunday in particular, I woke up and I was crying. We were getting ready for church and all I could think about was having to face G.G. the next day. She was mean *shudder*, and was able to get everyone to join in on her antics. If she said I did something, people began echoing her lies. I would walk the aisle and she would call me names. Uh- it was bad!
Back to Sunday. I remember that Sunday morning, as I expressed my anxiety, my sister told me to just pray and not worry. She offered me more advice, but they fell on deaf ears. All I could focus on was G.G. and whatever creative way she planned on tormenting me.
God had apparently heard my cries. He prepared a special Sunday service for me. The message was tailored to my situation. God was telling me- He is mighty. I could hear him repeating the question asked in Jeremiah 32:27: Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh, is there any thing too hard for me?
This particular Sunday we had an extra session of praise. We began singing songs that said, “God will send deliverance to your home, work…” I remember them repeating two songs in particular that focused of God’s ability to protect and deliver.
As we danced and sang, I sang and prayed. I moved to/from praise and prayer. “God, please help me! I cannot take it anymore. Please do what you feel is right.” I remember thinking: ‘God remove her.’ But guilt overtook me, and I said: “I am not saying fire her, just help me- do something.” In the moment of prayer, I felt an inexplicable calm. I heard an inner voice that said, “Its ok. I’ll take care of it”
I started to cry. I cried out loud. The type of crying that cause your body to shake. My sister put her hand and on back and began to rub it. “It’s ok” she said, attempting to console me. “No, no- you don’t get it. I am crying because I am happy. God told me he took care of it.”
Monday morning, I arrived at work a little anxious. How had God planned on handling the situation? I wondered how she would treat me. I must admit that my fear caused me to doubt. There seemed to be a loud whisper on the floor. What were they whispering about?Finally it got to me.
“Did you hear? G.G. was fired!”
“Really!?! What happened” My heart pounded. I knew what transpired Sunday morning. Still, I couldn’t believe it. G.G. always bragged that she would never get fired, because she was the top performer. We believed her. She believed herself. So much so that she came to work as if it couldn’t happen and went to HR. They had to fire her for the second and final time the next day.
I don’t share that story much, because I did feel guilty about her losing her job. But, I must say, – I was relieved! Nonetheless, it serves as a reminder to me that God hears our cries and he cares about us.
I wish I could say that situation transformed me into a fearless warrior you know today, but… I still need to remind myself to have no fear; to approach life with a boldness. We serve a God who is able to slay literal and figurative giants.
Please share examples of how God has showed up in your life- in a way that serves as a reminder of His grandeur. Do you have a fear that seems to lurk in the corner? Feel free to share.
Rose thank you so much for sharing this… I lived in fear for the majority of my life. I always took so long to make decisions because I didn’t believe or trust in myself. I also had a bully when I was younger and it was terrible… And that may have contributed to the feelings of inadequacy and low self esteem that led me to fear many things. It wasn’t until my late 20s that I became close to God. And I really don’t know where I would be without the spiritual freedom that he has given me. I still fear some things, but I’ve been so much better at life. I’ve learned that in trusting him, I can trust myself because I know he is with me in all I do. Now I try to do as much as I can (within reason), almost making up for all the lost time. It’s crazy how fears can literally turn you into a prisoner. I thank God for my liberation. And I thank you for initiating this moment of self reflection. 🙂
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That’s wonderful Nina. Way to go on taking back your life. I think it’s great that you mentioned you had to improve your relationship with God first. By getting to know Him, we learn that He has plans for us. His word tells us to not worry. The plans he have does not include allowing fear to take control of us. I can relate to the your taking a long time making decisions- not trusting yourself. That’s a horrible feeling. Needing to 2nd guess your every move. But ah what freedom we find through God! God bless you. Keep us posted on where he leads you. 🙂
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Fear says we are not Trusting Him…Trust Him to take care of us is key to beating fear at its game of imprisoning our hearts. Thanks for sharing Rosie.
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Amen! The key is to trust God. It does imprison us. Then we find ourselves living a limited life. It takes us working on our faith; reading believing the word of God is true!
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God listens to our prayer and hears our cries. He is the strength of our lives.
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True! It is amazing to realize how much He is into the details. When we cry out to Him, He hears.
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So true.
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Look at God! G.G. went down with a sling shot from the Savior just like in the Bible! Absolutely not glorifying in her loss because I do pray she bounced back but the response to your prayer seemed to be instant! That’s the kind of speed that most wish for concerning their prayers. Fear Not is exactly what we as believers should do in situations like this an beyond. You know my story about work so no need to reiterate here. I am just so excited about what he is going to do next! Great Post Rose!
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Man I really would like to receive all my responses that quickly. I’m waiting on a few now. But seriously… God is sovereign. He will work things out for the good of those who love Him. I know you will keep us posted on the great works God performs in your life! God bless you!
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I really like this story. So encouraging and inspiring. Thanks Rose for sharing.
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You’re welcome! It was my pleasure.
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Hi Rose, wow! What a wonderful post! Just the encouragement I needed today. I’m facinbg some fears right now, as more and more people move into our country who are not Christian and I see how it is accepted to kind of go a long and give into the pressure of not disp!laying the American flag for example!e in Walmart for fear of offending them. I’ve been picked up by the police about five times just for witnessing. I get taken to the mental hospital and drugged. So yes, there is a reason to fear. I have to battle fear a lot, but I am drawing closer to the Lord through this. I need friends right now who will encourage me. But it seems its hard to find good friends who will listen as well as talk.
Qw
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Hello Quietwoman. I am happy to hear that you benefited from reading this. Sorry to hear about what has been happening to you. It is difficult to feel like we have no support system. I will pray for God to bring alongside people who can minister to you in a way that is beneficial. I also pray that He reveals His perfect will to you and show you how to live according to it. I understand your fear. We are called to spread the gospel, but must be sure to obey the law of the land (Rom 13). Seems like you are in a difficult situation. I stopped to say a prayer for you. May God bless you.
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Sure, we are to obey the law of the land but they make laws that go against my beliefs like not spanking children or accepting gay marriage. I can’t condone those things. This is why this country is going down. There is so much wickedness. I can’t even let my children out of my sight outside. Its sad.
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I hear you! So much is going on in our country… As parents we must be diligent in praying for the protection of our most prized possession! Thank you for the comment.
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