Phobics Apply Here
By
Elin Henderson
“Whenever
I am afraid, I will TRUST in You.”
Psalm
56:3 (NKJV)
We all have our list of
“phobias,” don’t we? They run the gamut: fear of spiders, rats, feet, germs, or
more serious things like cancer and terrorists. I confess my list of phobias
and fears have dwindled after seven years in the African bush, but that is out
of necessity, not as a result of therapy! Let’s face it, we are a phobic
generation! Just look at our obsession for insurances, security systems,
sunscreen, antibacterial everything…and avoiding public speaking at all cost!
We are not alone in our
fears. The Bible’s King David is with us. If you have ever studied his life,
you probably remember that he knew a little something about fear. He expresses
it briefly in Psalm
56.
… My enemies would
hound me all day, there are many who fight against me…(v. 2)
… they twist my
words…(v. 5)
… they lie in wait. (v.
6)
Many of us know exactly
what it feels like to be hounded by an enemy, and are familiar with the fear it
brings. How did David react to this fear? TRUST! The antidote to fear is TRUST.
Trust, not in a distant indifferent God, but in the God David trusted. The One
who “numbers my wanderings and puts my tears in a bottle…(vs.8),” a God who
knows us intimately and cares for us implicitly.
It can be a scary world
that we live in today. Besides our petty personal fears (for me, snakes and
rats), there are plenty of real fears that can easily consume and paralyze us.
The question for us is: What are we doing about those fears? Only when we
can TRUST in the One who is bigger than our fears will we find victory!
Then we can boldly say with David, “In God I have put my TRUST; I will not be
afraid” (vs. 11a).
GOING DEEPER:
1. Take a sheet of
paper and fold it in half. On one side, make a list of your top fears. On the
other side, list how God is bigger than those fears. If you have time, add
Scripture verses that back up your answers. Keep this sheet of paper on
hand. When one of those fears crops up, TRUST in the One who is able to handle
them. This will also allow you, when others share their fears with you, to be
prepared to point them to the Lord.
2. Share these verses
from Psalm 56 with someone else today.
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 ten-year-old Elias. They are currently in America on Home Assignment.
