In these times of uncertainty and fear, seek the Lord

‘The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear? (Psalm 27:1) 
There is so much chaos, crime, corruption, and now Covid 19 and its ensuing confusion, contradictions and various conspiracy theories. It has all turned into a very real crisis, as it has now hit our community.
I use alliteration like this to help me remember and to pray through the issues of the day. Darkness is increasing and the dangers in the world are unprecedented, and we can so easily be ruled and controlled by panic and fear.
Whether it’s the fear of serious illness or death, of separation and loneliness, of losing our loved ones or possessions, or the possibilities of financial difficulties or ruin, fears and phobias of any kind can steal our peace of mind and dominate our life.
If we are not careful and prayerful, our thoughts, conversations and actions could all be influenced by uncertainty and fear.
In order to overcome our fears, we need to learn how to apply the Word of God to our fears. One such Scripture is Psalm 27. In it, David shows us how to overcome fear. He says: “To overcome fear, seek the Lord!”
You may think this is far too simplistic and that you would not be able to apply it to your very real circumstances and fears. David, however, knew what he was talking about! He had evil-doers coming at him to kill him. They were plotting and speaking violence against him. David had an entire army encamped against him. And yet he could say, “My heart will not fear; though war arise against me, in spite of this I am confident” (Psalm 27:3)! This man of God knew the reality of threats and dangers, and can teach us about overcoming fear.
Though “seeking the Lord” may sound easy or simplistic, David is talking about a total way of life that is focused on God and which clings to God with naked faith in desperately overwhelming situations where there is no other source of help. David shows us practically how to seek the Lord to overcome all our fears.
With the reality of life-threatening danger and fear, David firstly asserts his confidence in the Lord alone in the face of these violent threats (Psalm 27:1-3).
Secondly, he follows this by affirming his deliberate focus on the Lord and His presence, even as he is surrounded by enemies (Psalm 27:4-6).
Anyone who has struggled with any sort of fear knows that it doesn’t go away and stay away the first time you tell it to. You can lock the door, but fear climbs in the window! So David, who was confident to begin with, finds himself anxious again and he redirects his focus to the Lord (Psalm 27:7-12).
Lastly, David then reaffirms his faith in the Lord and His goodness by repeatedly reminding himself to wait for the Lord (27:13-14). We need to repeatedly speak out our faith and trust in the Lord.
Psalm 27 is no simple formula for overcoming fear. What we have is a way of life: Seeking the Lord is the way to overcome fear. Seeking the Lord is not merely having a quiet time, praying routinely or just reading a few verses of scripture every day; rather it is pouring out our hearts to God in prayer, earnestly seeking His will and purpose for our life, and spending much more time in prayer and scripture reading.
Above all, we must express our faith and trust in His goodwill for our lives.
I dare to say that it is time for us, individually, to seek the Lord with all our hearts. Things are bound to get far worse before they get any better, so let’s resolve now to seek the Lord.
If God gave us a formula, we’d use it and then forget God until the next crisis. But seeking the Lord is a daily matter. I strongly recommend that we make much more use of the Psalms and Psalm 27 in particular in these days. Unlike David, we might not have enemies and evil-doers and persecutors pursuing us, but we can replace those threats and dangers with our own troubles, trials and tribulations like the Covid-19 pandemic we now face.
Prayer: Father God, help us to put our trust in You alone, to keep our focus on You alone, and to reaffirm our faith in You alone and in so doing, help us to overcome our fear, in Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
Br Daniel

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