Last week I anchored myself in the 34th Psalm as I
dealt with a sudden and surprising matter that left me feeling ungrounded and
fearful. I write with a very personal understanding and gratitude for this
Psalm I have read many times before.
Fear is debilitating if we have no refuge. Common to us all is fear for our children’s
well-being, fear of losing jobs, financial hardship, failing health, and the changes
of life’s seasons. Profound among my fears is the last line of Oh Sacred Head
Now Wounded, “and should I
fainting be, Lord, let me never, ever
out live my love to Thee.”
David casts his fear on the Lord in verse 4, with intense pleading. "I sought the Lord, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears.” Verse 7 affirms " The angel of the LORD, (the pre-incarnate Christ,) encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.”
As New
Testament/new covenant believers, we have the affirmation of the Holy Spirit’s
intercession when we are in a place of spiritual attack, unable to ask and
plead as we might need. “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness.
We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for
us through wordless groans." Romans 8:26
Hudson Taylor, 19th century missionary to China, in the closing months of his life wrote the
following to a friend. “I am so weak I cannot write; I cannot read my Bible; I
cannot even pray. I can only lie still in God’s arms like a little child, and
trust. In Psalm 27:13 David says “I would have fainted unless I had believed I
would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.”
We must learn to abide and hide in the Lord Jesus – I know no other way!
2 comments:
Very appropriate thoughts on this momentous election day.
Thank you for your transparency Diane. In a day when fear seems to stalk us waiting for a way in these words are so comforting! He is our Rock and a very present help in times of trouble! :)
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