When Fear Comes

Fear does not always announce itself politely. Sometimes it rushes in like a cold wind, a diagnosis, a phone call, a sleepless three in the morning when the mind will not be still. The question is not whether fear will come. The question is what you do when it arrives at the door.

David, writing Psalm 56, was not in a comfortable place when he penned these words. He was surrounded by enemies, his words were twisted against him, and men were plotting to take his life. And yet he writes something almost startling in its simplicity: "What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee." That phrase, "what time I am afraid", is honest. David is not pretending the fear is not there. He is not performing a bravery he does not feel. He is saying: in the very moment fear arrives, I will make a choice to trust. Fear and faith can occupy the same heart at the same time. The presence of one does not disqualify the other.

Then God speaks through the prophet Isaiah to a people in exile, displaced, uncertain, wondering if they had been forgotten: "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness." Count the promises in that single verse, presence, strength, help, and an upholding hand. God does not give one promise and leave the rest to chance. He stacks them, one upon another, as if to say: I have thought of every angle of your fear, and I am greater than all of them.

For someone reading the Bible for the first time, here is what you need to know: God is not surprised by your fear, and He is not disappointed in you for feeling it. For the long-time believer, notice that God says "I will uphold thee", the upholding is ongoing, continuous, a hand that does not let go even when you stop feeling it. Your feelings are real, but they are not the final word. The final word belongs to the God who holds you.