Fear and Faith

Psalm 27:1–14 (ESV):  

1  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? 

2  When evildoers assail me 

to eat up my flesh, 

my adversaries and foes, 

it is they who stumble and fall. 

3  Though an army encamp against me, 

my heart shall not fear; 

though war arise against me, 

yet I will be confident. 

4  One thing have I asked of the Lord, 

that will I seek after: 

that I may dwell in the house of the Lord 

all the days of my life, 

to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord 

and to inquire in his temple. 

5  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 lift me high upon a rock. 

6  And now my head shall be 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. 

7  Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud; 

be gracious to me and answer me! 

8  You have said, “Seek my face.” 

My heart says to you, 

“Your face, Lord, do I seek.” 

9  Hide not your face from me. 

Turn not your servant away in anger, 

O you who have been my help. 

Cast me not off; forsake me not, 

O God of my salvation! 

10  For my father and my mother have forsaken me, 

but the Lord will take me in. 

11  Teach me your way, O Lord, 

and lead me on a level path 

because of my enemies. 

12  Give me not up to the will of my adversaries; 

for false witnesses have risen against me, 

and they breathe out violence. 

13  I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord 

in the land of the living! 

14  Wait for the Lord; 

be strong, and let your heart take courage; 

wait for the Lord! 

What scares you? 

Being persecuted, involved in war, loneliness, rejection, death, other people, God? It is natural to be afraid sometimes, there are some scary things you can come across in life. Did you know though, that you can be afraid and confident at the same time? David was. 

In this psalm David shows his confidence that God looks after those who ’seek’ Him. He is certain that in the big battles of life God is working things out. Yet David is also scared. He is afraid that God may ‘forsake’ him. Maybe he had recently messed up when he wrote this psalm and realised he’d done things his own way instead of God’s, so felt that he no longer deserves God’s divine protection. Or maybe he had become absorbed by the everyday difficulties that seem to take over and became so overwhelmed that God seemed distant. I don’t know, but we can all get like that can't we? Sure of God but less sure of ourselves or the circumstances we find ourselves in. It is natural to feel like that, David did too. He had confidence in God’s long-term plan, but felt fear in his present predicament. One of the wonderful things this shows us is that you can still trust in God and be afraid. These things are not opposites and it doesn’t mean you have lost faith or become disobedient if you get scared. You may have become; disorientated, overwhelmed, shocked, disappointed, or become stretched as you enter into a new unknown circumstance. None of these things make you a bad christian or should lead you to question if you really have faith. You have faith but are also afraid. Moses, David, Ananias, and most of humanity since the beginning of time, have suffered the same type of conundrum. Faith and fear can co-exist, and dare I say it, maybe they should co-exist. If you are not scared, are you really walking a life of faith? God often challenges and stretches His people, and they can be persecuted and suffer, it is ok to be scared about these things. Yet do not lose your confidence in God. 

This psalm reminds me of the New Testament story of the man asking Jesus for healing for his child. He tells Jesus, “Lord, I believe, help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24).  Don’t you feel like that sometimes? Both David and this man recognise the truth of who God is, yet they in their humility recognise that fear and doubt creep in. I am sure that is true for you too. It is nothing to be ashamed of, you can admit it and, as both these men did, ask God for help!

The beginning of this psalm is a reminder of what you should be focussing on. Not on problems, worries or fears, but on who God is. You can have confidence in Him because he provides you with; guidance, salvation, strength, protection, support, deliverance, presence, shelter and promises (v1-6). Whatever it is you need, God can give it to you - are you looking to Him for it? 

When you pray about the things that scare you do you first remind yourself of the truth of who God is? David starts there. He remembers that God is his stronghold and salvation before he begins to 'cry' to Him. Even his 'cry' seems like worship, as David is imploring God for help, he is recalling God's salvation and goodness. Is this how you pray? Just because you may be in need in an area of your life it does not been that God has overlooked, forgotten or ignored it. You need to be pressing in as David did. Keep seeking God's face, keep praying, keep trusting, keep reminding yourself of the character of God and be open to change. Do you ask God as David did, to teach you and lead you through?

Once you have acknowledged the truth of who God is and admitted your fears, ask God to teach you and help you, then ‘wait for the Lord’. You can keep asking and keep trusting, but you also have to wait! With time, experience and understanding you will find out that when you walk your life with God there are less things to be scared of. 

‘Be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord’

sinfulness of unbelief

*12*Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. *13*But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. *14*For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. 
Hebrews 3:12–14.

Are you walking free from sin? Or are you getting tangled up in it?

These verses tell us that the root of the deceitfulness of sin is because of, ‘an evil, unbelieving heart’. It makes sense that sinfulness and disbelief go hand-in-hand - Evil stems from unbelief. Think of it this way - someone who has never believed in God has no knowledge of Him, so they go about their life and get up to all sorts of wrongdoing, yet they do not have a sense that it isn’t right because they have no experience or knowledge of anything different - their unbelief has led to sin. This gradually infects the heart, causes it to be hardened and increase in evil, all because of unbelief.

So it follows then that those who DO have belief should be free from sin. This is true in the fact that Jesus has died in order to wipe away our sins when we turn to him and turn our hearts away from wrong, but you and I know, that we still get it wrong. we still fall for temptation and sin. So, what do the verses above mean for us? Well, if you are a believer in Christ, and you continue to wilfully sin, do you realise that you are choosing to, ‘fall away from the living God’? If you purposefully sin then you are wilfully separating yourself from God. I hope that causes you to pay attention! It is scary, but it is true. When you purposefully do what you know is not right, you are turning away from God in unbelief and falling away from Him - have you ever considered it like that before?

If you are convincing yourself that your wrongdoing is actually not that bad, that everyone does it anyway, that it is not hurting anyone else, then aren’t you just making excuses and trying to downplay sin? This is the ‘deceitfulness of sin’ and the ‘unbelieving heart’ will make excuses and allowances where none should be made. If your belief in God is not strong, then nor will your tolerance for temptation be.

As we can see, sin is not an isolated problem, nor even the root problem itself, unbelief is.

Somewhere along the line your vision of who God is has waned. At some point your trust and security in Jesus has dwindled, and you have allowed your own ideas and temptation to win instead. That is why these verses encourage us to keep our 'original confidence'.
Do you remember the heart-leaping times with God where your spirit is overwhelmed by His love? when you smile just because you are alive and God is with you? Do you remember those times that Jesus felt closer than your brother?
If you have lost that sensation, that assurance and confidence in who God is, then be aware that unbelief can sneak in and steal your heart. You can start to look about for other ways to satisfy. Sin seeps in when belief dips. Maybe you feel let down by God so your trust in Him has dwindled, or maybe things have felt a bit flat recently. I am here to tell you God hasn't changed. He is still the same God that mets your needs, hears your prayers and died for you on the cross. He is still the same God who gave up his majesty, strength and rights to give you a place in his kingdom. He is still the same God who created your innermost being, who has planned your life with purpose and walks with you in it - have you lost sight of Him? Do you consider that God is in your life everyday?

Keeping a focus on who God is squashes unbelief. Doing things that increase your faith like; speaking with Godly people, spending time in prayer and Bible study- these things will increase your belief and will give you power to fight sin.

Are you ready to do that?

It is not too late to deal with you wrongdoing.
Today is a new day, and can be a new step forward for you to escape sin. Jesus has made it possible for you to live a life free from 'the deceitfulness of sin', and stay connected with God. Are you choosing to live that life?

I exhort you to recognise your share in Christ, recapture your confidence in who He is and denounce afresh the deceitfulness of sin. Jesus has paid the price. He has freed you. Is your belief big enough to walk in that freedom?