God is Faithful.
5Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night, nor the arrow that flies in the day.
6Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness,
nor the disaster that strikes at midday.” Psalm 91:5-6 NLT.
My comments today are about, “faith and fear.”
Our study of Psalm 91 now addresses the matters of faith and fear. Without your allowance, fear cannot overwhelm your faith. Choose to live by faith and you will not have to live in fear. That choice is yours alone to make. As I read today’s verses, three words came to mind – unafraid, unseen, and unavoidable.
Fear is a choice you can refuse to make. “Do not be afraid . . do not dread!” God’s Word and will are consistent. 17 ”As we live in God, our love grows more perfect . . 18 Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear.” 1 John 4:17-18 NLT. When and where love grows, fear diminishes. Love expels fear! They cannot and will not co-exist.
The unseen is not unknown to God. “Terrors of the night . . arrows in the day . . disease in darkness . . disaster at midday.” 1 Corinthians 13:12 NLT. What is unforeseen by us is not unknown to Him. ”Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.” 1 Corinthians 13:12 NLT. Such a great promise.
Some things in life are unavoidable. “Your Father in heaven makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” Matthew 5:45 NLT. Our God is not the cause of everything that happens in life, but He certainly reigns over all that touches your life. This beautiful psalm comments on the frightening times of life yet assures you of His victory.
17“Our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! 18 So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.” 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 NLT. Faith and fear are mutually exclusive. When you maximize either one, you minimize the other.
Doubt will succumb to your resolute conviction of God’s truth and integrity. Decide and determine to abide steadfastly under, “the shadow the Almighty,” by resting your full trust upon His character and Truth. Today’s verses outline your proper decision and required response. Do not give in to fear, whether arising in the day or during the darkness of night. With authority, confess
In both day and night, you can rest and safely trust in His securing presence. When and while you abide in our God for your shelter and enduring refuge, declare as the Psalmist wrote, “I will say of the Lord, “He is my Refuge and my Fortress, my God, in Whom I trust.” Psalm 91:2 NIV. The choice is yours alone.
No one can make that decision for you. Certainly, you should not allow your present circumstance to decide either your attitude or your fate. Jesus was always practical. In the dangers of the day and the terrors of the dark, you can trust and be unafraid.
My prayer for you today is to know that God’s will and Word are consistent.
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