September 24, 2023 8:00 pm
When I was a boy, the schoolyard was where bullies threw their weight around and kids like me received that bullying with minimal protest. As we cowered in fear before our tormenters, there was something even worse: their taunts of “Are you scared? You’re afraid of me, aren’t you? There’s no one here to protect you.”
In fact, most of those times I really was frightened—and with good cause. Having been punched in the past, I knew I didn’t want to experience that again. So, what could I do and who could I trust when I was stricken with fear? When you’re eight years old and being bullied by a kid who is older, bigger, and stronger, the fear is legitimate.
When David faced attack, he responded with confidence rather than fear—because he knew he didn’t face those threats alone. He wrote, “The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” (Psalm 118:6). As a boy, I’m not sure I would have been able to understand David’s level of confidence. As an adult, however, I’ve learned from years of walking with Christ that He’s greater than any fear-inducing threat.
The threats we face in life are real. Yet we need not fear. The Creator of the universe is with us, and He’s more than enough.
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Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread. I'm Bill Crowder and I titled today's reading, Reason for Fear. When I was a boy, the schoolyard was where bullies threw their weight around and kids like me received that bullying with minimal protest. As we cowered in fear before our tormentors, there was something even worse. There are taunts of, are you scared? You're afraid of me, aren't you? There's no one here to protect you. In fact, most of those times I really was frightened and with good cause. Having been punched in the past, I knew I didn't want to experience that again. So what could I do and whom could I trust when I was stricken with fear? When you're eight years old and being bullied by a kid who is older, bigger and stronger, the fear is legitimate. When the psalmist faced attack, he responded with confidence rather than fear because he knew he didn't face those threats alone.
He wrote in Psalm 118, the Lord is with me. I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? As a boy, I'm not sure I would have been able to understand his level of confidence. As an adult, however, I've learned from years of walking with Christ that he's greater than any fear inducing threat. The threats we face in life are real, yet we need not fear. The creator of the universe is with us and he is more than enough. Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is taken from Psalm 118 verses one through seven. Give thanks to the Lord for he is good. His love endures forever. Let Israel say his love endures forever. Let the house of Aaron say his love endures forever. Let those who fear the Lord say his love endures forever. When hard pressed, I cried to the Lord. He brought me into a spacious place. The Lord is with me. I will not be afraid.
What can mere mortals do to me? The Lord is with me. He is my helper.
I look in triumph on my enemies. Let's pray. Father, I thank you that you're with us and that we can trust you in those moments when we're afraid. We can rest in you and know that you will see us through by your grace. We thank you in Jesus name. Amen. Thanks for listening today. My name is Bill Crowder and today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.
Whisper: medium.en / 2023-10-07 07:14:49 / 2023-10-07 07:16:15 / 1
