Be Still 

“The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1, RSV). 

Fear of people is incompatible with fear of God. In other words, the two kinds of fear are mutually exclusive. A person who truly fears God isn’t afraid of people. Therefore, overcoming fear of people is essential to your relationship with God. The more you fear God, the less you will fear people. In this context, we’re referring to the fear of what people can do to you. God wants you to fear Him alone, for it’s in the fear of God that you overcome your fear of people. No one is God Almighty. Even the strongest of men are fragile and mortal. The truth is, when you fear people, you make them bigger than God. But as you grow in your relationship with God, you’ll realize how big God is and how tiny and fragile human beings are. This godly realization is your key to overcoming fear of people and fear of their threats. This is the realization David had that led him to declare the things we see in today’s Bible text.

You may call this realization a revelation. I’ve mentioned before in one of our devotionals the important distinction between having information and having revelation. You can know in your head all the right things about God and still live in fear. What you need is a revelation, a sort of spiritual awakening that opens your spiritual eyes once and for all that God is your salvation, and therefore, there’s nothing (absolutely nothing!) in people that can cause you to live in fear of them. Jesus told us in Matthew 10:28 that we should not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Herein lies the truth: no human being can touch your soul. Note the words of David carefully. He says that God is his light, his salvation and his stronghold. Three things. David had an unshakable conviction in his heart that God was his light, salvation and stronghold. Consequently, he saw no reason to be afraid of people. When you know – without doubt – that God is your light, your salvation and your stronghold, no matter what comes against you, you shall not be afraid. Today, I want you to ask God to reveal himself to you as your light, your salvation and your stronghold.

Pray with David:

Though an army may encamp against me, my heart shall not fear. Though war may rise against me, in this I will be confident. Amen. 

For further study: 2 Kings 6:8-23