I sought the Lord, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears. (Psalms 34:4)
For most of us, being gripped with fear is one of the worst feelings in the world. I hear it in the voices of people who find themselves in life transitions or when things are out of their comfort zone.
Fear leads to worry. For me, it often begins with the “what ifs” and all the different scenarios that play in my head. My mind wanders and tries to find a solution. When I have run out of options, I begin to think there is no answer. That is a fearful place to be, and it can lead to exhaustion. My brain gets tired of thinking about the same thing over and over.
I wonder if having no solution led King David to finally seek the Lord. Was it after he had exhausted all options and nothing seemed to work? Psalm 34 is attributed to the period when David was struggling to stay out of the clutches of King Saul. He was on the run to avoid being killed because of King Saul’s jealous rage. He was constantly looking over his shoulder, probably worried to go to sleep at night for fear that he may not wake up. I don’t know exactly how long he lived like this… but one day he decided to seek the Lord.
We can learn a lot from King David. Now I know exactly what to do when fear comes over me. I need to seek the Lord. The Lord heard David and delivered him from all fears. I can expect him to do the same for me.
My prayer point is that I don’t have to wait until I am at my wit's end to seek the Lord. Neither do you. We have the option to seek the Lord the moment we are weighted down with fear. This also gives us the opportunity to say “no” to worry.
It is good to learn from others. Their successes give us a proven method that works. It can save us from having to reinvent the wheel. We are blessed to have examples of people who have a track record with God.
God bless you!
