Surround Sound Fear
By Elin Henderson
“…Fear
is on every side…”
Psalms
31:13b (NKJV)
When I make my rare appearances at
the movie theater, I am always reminded of the reason I don’t have a surround
sound entertainment system in my living room! The movie, whether it is Despicable Me 2 or Captain
Phillips, comes to life in such a
way that you feel like you can’t escape! The sound is coming at you from every
angle and you can feel it in your very being.
I don’t need that kind of “entertaining” intensity in my life!
Sometimes, we can experience a
surround sound FEAR. From every side and every angle, the enemy is coming at us,
and with him comes his weapon of fear. There is no apparent escape or way out.
The theater doors are closed, we are stuck in our row and the noise just keeps
getting closer and louder!
The Old Testament shepherd/king David
well knew what it was like to live with surround sound fear. Many a time he had
to run for his life and even fight for his life. Things were said to him and
about him. Whether it was perceived or real, his (and at times our) fear can be
overpowering.
Did David remain there, overpowered
by fear? No! Verse 14 says, “But as for
me, I trust in You, O LORD; I say, ‘You are my God’.” He called out to God and ran to Him for
shelter and safety. He knew that in the midst of surround sound fear there was
a cleft in the rock where God’s hand would hide and protect him.
So, next time you, like the hymn
writer below, experience surround sound fear, may you cling to the Hand of Him
who is all your hope and stay!
“When
all around my soul gives way,
He
then is all my hope and stay.”
-Keith
W. Ward [1]
GOING DEEPER:
1. Are there some fears in
your life that have grown to “surround sound” – gradually or even quickly?
2. How does knowing God’s
protection over you and loving hand under you, help to allay those fears?
FURTHER READING:
[1] http://www.faithalone.org/journal/1998i/Ward.htmlhttp://www.faithalone.org/journal/1998i/Ward.html
Oakwood’s missionaries Elin Henderson (a registered nurse) and her husband Phil serve as church planters with New Tribes in Mozambique, Africa. Elin is mother to thirteen-year-old Callie and eleven-year-old Elias. They are currently in America on Home Assignment.
