Whom Shall I Fear?

Psalm 27:1-6 (NRSV)

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?
When evildoers assail me
to devour my flesh -
my adversaries and foes -
they shall stumble and fall.
Though an army encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear;
though war rise up against me,
yet I will be confident.
One thing I asked of the LORD,
that will I seek after:
to live in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to behold the beauty of the LORD,
and to inquire in his temple.
For he will hide me in his shelter
in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
he will set me high on a rock.
Now my head is lifted up
above my enemies all around me,
and I will offer in his tent
sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make melody to the LORD. 

It's been said that the opposite of love is not hate, but rather it is fear.  It makes sense in a lot of ways.  How many of the terrible things of this world are born out of fear?  Fear of losing power or money.  Fear of another race or ethnicity.  Fear of difference or the unknown.  Fear of change.  Love gets squashed under such circumstances.

And since God is the ultimate source of love, it makes sense then that fear is the enemy.  "Do not be afraid" is the spoken by God over and over in the Hebrew Scriptures  as well as in the New Testament through Jesus.

And here Psalmist/David through faith takes up the call not to fear.  Why should he fear when the Lord is his light and his salvation?

We might have a hundred different responses to him.  There are scary things in this world.  

And yet those scary things are not meant to have the final word.  As a parent, I know one of the lessons I most tried to teach my daughter was that no matter how scared she was of something or even of life in general, when she saw a news story where something terrible had happened, she had to have faith to keep on living.  Fear wins when we allow it to.  When we choose fear over living.

God is a God of love, but also of life and so the Psalmist, through faith, not only lives rather than fears, but celebrates the life that God has given.

The world can be fearful.  But life can be full of joy and love when God, and not fear, is allowed the final word.

God of strength and compassion, I get scared sometimes and ask that in your love, you help me to find the courage to move from fear into life. Amen