How Do I Face My Fears?
PSALM THIRTY-FOUR
In this lesson we will be comforted and encouraged as we face fears in our lives.
OVERVIEW
RRIIINNNNGGGG! Your alarm clock sounds and the day begins. But instead of jumping out of bed, have you ever wanted to pull the covers over your head and hide? You dread facing all the challenges of the day. Or worse yet, if you wake up to a clock radio blaring the morning news, you know for a fact what a fearful world we live in.
But maybe your morning fears are not on the news; they’re deep down in your workplace. You live in constant fear of getting caught in the down-sizing trend. Or are you working on a business deal that will determine the success or failure of your career?
Maybe your deepest fears lie at home. Is your marriage stretched to the point of snapping? Have sons or daughters drifted out of your control? Do they do drugs? Are they sexually active? I could go on and list fear after fear, but I’m sure I have already touched on some that you may know by name.
If I haven’t mentioned the fear that haunts your heart, perhaps it’s the illusive kind. A good friend of mine and former classmate, Don Wyrtzen, has written a little devotional book on the Psalms. Commenting on Psalm 34 he writes, “The illusive monster of fear lurks in the shadows, waiting to claw my soul to shreds. As one prone to melancholia, I see its ugly face often when I’m struggling with the emotional stress of a difficult relationship, when I’m afraid failure is just around the corner, when success seems too hard to handle, and on days when free floating anxiety is getting the best of me.”
Now think about the last phrase for a moment. Free floating anxiety. Perhaps your most haunting fear doesn’t even have a name—that foreboding fear that something is wrong but you don’t know what. It envelopes you like a cloud. If ever you’ve sensed this kind of fear, you’re not alone. All of us have felt that cold mist.
The Psalm we are about to study speaks directly to our fears and encourages us with a wonderful promise. The truth we are about to soak up will change us if we make it a part of our lives. The Psalmist promises that “The humble shall hear of it and be glad.” In other words, if we study this Psalm carefully and understand its truth, we can walk away from any fearful experience renewed in our spirit and in our heart.
The Fearful Fugitive
In your Bible, under the title “Psalm 34” you will find a little descriptive phrase explaining the psalm’s background: “A Psalm of David when he pretended madness before Achish who drove him away, and he departed.”
David was a fugitive. He was fearful for his life because of King Saul’s jealousy. When the young David defeated the nine foot, six inch Goliath with five smooth stones and the power of the Lord, he immediately rose to hero status in Israel with everyone except Saul. Saul wanted to kill David. He hunted him down like a wild animal. On one occasion, he amassed an army of thirty thousand men just to track him in the caves and wilderness.
David knew if he was going to escape Saul’s henchmen, he would have to get creative. So, he hid in the one place Saul would never look—over the Philistine border in enemy territory. But David had forgotten that he had taken Goliath’s sword as a souvenir of victory and strapped it to his belt. Crossing into enemy territory, he walked right into Goliath’s hometown. David was captured within minutes and taken to their king, Achish.
David knew he was a dead man. After all, he had killed the Philistine’s hero. Once again he had to get creative. So, he feigned madness. I Samuel 21:13 says he drooled in his beard and scratched on the door. It was the first case of pleading insanity. He was so crazy that Achish said, “Get him out of here—I’ve got enough crazy people.” Scripture says, “David was banished from the presence of Achish and he went down into the cave of Adullum.”
While he hid in that cave, David penned Psalm 34. Man, does this Psalm have credibility! He had been abandoned by his friends as well as his enemies. He was frustrated, discouraged, and scared to death.
I don’t know what cave you’re holed up in, but sooner or later we all get to the cave, don’t we? We get there discouraged, wondering what’s next, afraid of the future. So David wants to help us get a foothold in walking through our fears and finding God’s peace with each step.
Acknowledge the Reliability of Your God
When you find yourself in the cave of fear or when that free- floating anxiety descends upon your life, the first thing you need to do is to acknowledge the reliability of your God. Say, “Lord, I know You are worthy of my complete trust.” Verses 1–3 could catch you off guard if you don’t understand what David is doing. These words seem better suited to a praise and worship song.
“I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; the humble shall hear of it and be glad.
Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.”
You may ask, “David wrote these words when he was afraid?” Yes! He wants us to understand that when we as believers in God face our fears, we must start with the realization that God is sovereign—He’s in charge. He’s in total control and He is worthy of our praise. Nothing that happens to us catches Him by surprise.
David dealt with his fear by offering praise and worship to God. He demonstrated his faith in the Lord by looking immediately into His face. He shows us that we need to express our love, appreciation, praise, and exultation to the One who is in charge. Three times he says it in three different phrases: “I will praise the Lord no matter what happens. I will constantly speak of his glories and grace. I will boast of his kindness to me.”
When I feel afraid, I’m prone to pull the blanket over my head and hope it goes away. Or I nurse my fears. The Adversary of our souls loves to get our attention focused on ourselves and not on the resources of our God.
What will happen when you praise and worship God? Your praise makes God big in your heart and mind. Soon, your problem falls into perspective. When I worship God, sometimes even with the tears coming down my face, my spirit is renewed as I praise God. My problem doesn’t go away, but all of a sudden I see it in relation to the One who is in charge of everything.
I like that last little phrase, “I will boast of His kindness to me.” It’s interesting what we boast about, isn’t it? At the last party you went to, what did you boast about? Put the spotlight on the Lord and focus on Him. When we get together with friends, let’s just brag on Jesus. My friend Bill Hybels says that every time something good happens we should have a “Yeah, God!” party. The Psalmist David agrees! He shows us that one of the great therapies for fear is to have “Yeah, God!” parties. So many good things are happening in our lives as individuals, in our families and churches that we ought to boast on the Lord all the time.
Admit the Reality of Your Fears
Most of us know God is trustworthy. But the next step could cause us to trip a bit. David points out in the beginning of Psalm 34 that we have to admit to the reality of our fears. Read verses 4 and 5: “I sought the Lord, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears. They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces where not ashamed.”
David, the poet, personifies his fears. The verse literally reads, “I will never put a veil over the face of my fears, I will never try to hide them.” David explains in poetic form that part of the process of dealing with fear is the willingness to acknowledge and admit the fear is there.
I don’t like to acknowledge my fears to anyone. It’s kind of stupid but I don’t even like to tell God. Then I think, “Good night, Jeremiah, He knows about them already. But I still have a hard time saying, “God, I’m afraid,” or, “God, I’m weak.” The Psalmist says we ought to acknowledge our fears before God.
Why? Because only the fearful, the weak, and the helpless ever get the power of God in their lives. Did you know that? Look down in the next verses. Verse six says, “This poor man cried out.” He didn’t say “This strong man cried out … this man who has it all together cried out.” David said “This poor man … ” He recognized his need for God.
When we try to live our lives in our own strength, we ultimately fail. And if we don’t fail, we fall very short of God’s purposes for us. When we operate in the flesh, three things are always true: (1) we will always lack the power of the Spirit, and we’ll suffer from fatigue; (2) we will always lack the vision of the Spirit so we’ll suffer from frustration; and (3) we will always lack the sustaining ministry of the Spirit so we’ll suffer from failure.
Do these consequences sound familiar? You will always suffer these results when you tackle life in your own strength. But when tragedy strikes—an illness, financial hardship, rebellious children—you turn to God. When you feel helpless, inadequate, and weak, the Spirit of God gives you strength. All of a sudden you realize something dynamic is going on that you have never experienced before. It’s not your power, it’s God’s power. The Apostle Paul admits that if it takes weakness to get God’s power in his life, he’s better off weak than strong. Because when you are weak, then you are strong. Read 2 Corinthians 12:8–10.
Appropriate the Resources of Your Father
David testified, “This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.” C.S. Lewis once wrote, “Down through the ages whenever men had a need of courage they would cry out ‘Billy Budd, help me’ and nothing happened. But for 1900 years, whenever men have needed courage and have cried out, ‘Lord Jesus, help me’ something always happened.”
I love the Hebrew definition of the word “trouble.” The word literally translates, “hang-ups.” It means to be inhibited, tied up and restricted. When we lay hold of Christ, we are freed from our “hang-ups.” David reviews this principle later in verses 15 and 17. “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their cry.… and the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.”
Sound too simple? It is! Yet when I’ve counseled with so many Christians in deep trouble, I’ve asked them, “Have you talked to the Lord about this?” They looked at me with a blank stare. “You mean tell Him?” Yes. When you acknowledge the reliability of the One who is in charge of your life and then admit your fear, you have to appropriate the power that He has promised to give you. You have to tell it to Jesus.
Accept the Reinforcement of His Power
When you tell it to Jesus you now have His great resources coming to your aid. “The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them” (v. 7). Focus on that for just a moment. The phrase “angel of the Lord” appears in the Psalms three times, but you will never find it in the New Testament. This phrase is an Old Testament theophany which is an appearance or manifestation of God on Earth. A theophany is the Old Testament picture of Christ. In other words, the “angel of the Lord” is the Christ of the New Testament operating in the Old Testament. You don’t need the angel of the Lord in the New Testament because you have Christ.
The Psalmist says that Christ, the Lord Jehovah, encamps around those who fear Him and He delivers them. Jesus is close to you during the most fearful moments of your life. It doesn’t say He removes the fearful situation, but it promises that He will be encamped around you. The word “encamp” literally means to fortify you, build a hedge around you, and protect you in the midst of every fearful experience.
Have you ever gone through a difficult time and testified, “I never have felt so close to God like I did during this trial.” That was the presence of God fortifying you—strengthening you in the hard times.
Psalm 34:18 says, “The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit.” Do you have a broken heart? Are you filled with fear? Let me comfort you with something about the Lord, my friend. He is near you. Worship Him, tell Him your fears, receive His strength and trust Him to filter everything that touches you through His fingers of love.
APPLICATION
1. Read about another dangerous and fearful event in David’s life in 1 Samuel 21–22.
How did David’s brothers and other soldiers act in the face of fear?
How did Goliath taunt their fears?
What gave David confidence?
How would you compare these circumstances and David’s example to a “giant fear” you are facing?
2. What are the fearful elements Isaiah 61:3 says God’s love and protection invites us to exchange?
3. Read Acts 16:20–31.
Paul and Silas had every right to be afraid. List all the physical elements that could have caused them fear.
List all the fearful emotional elements.
What did Paul and Silas do at midnight while they were imprisoned?
4. Memorize Psalm 34:1–2, “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the Lord.”
David suggested that we have “Yeah, God!” parties when God has been good to us. Why not plan a “Yeah, God!” party? What would be your first icebreaker? “Yeah, God! Thank you for… ”
5. In the gospel of Luke, Jesus interacted with people. Read the following verses and determine who Jesus was talking to and why He said “Don’t be afraid.”
Luke 8:25
Luke 8:50
Luke 12:5
Luke 12:7
Luke 12:32
6. Read Matthew 8:23–27.
What was the disciples’ reaction to a fearful situation?
Why did Jesus correct them?
How can you respond with faith in Christ during a fearful situation?
7. Read the following verses and record what Jesus is promising in relation to our fears.
John 14:27
John 16:33
1 Peter 3:13–17
8. What does “the fear of the Lord” mean?
Study the following verses from the book of Proverbs to determine how to “fear” the Lord.
Proverbs 1:7
Proverbs 3:7
Proverbs 8:13
Proverbs 9:10
Proverbs 14:27
9. According to the following verses, what should be our response to fear?
Psalm 27:1
Psalm 56:3
Psalm 112:7–8
Isaiah 12:2
DID YOU KNOW?
Franklin Delano Roosevelt was stricken with a severe case of polio as a young man. A very determined person, he overcame his fear of paralysis by learning to walk with braces. But as he was conquering that fear, another entered his life. Because he was immobile, he daily wrestled with the fear of being caught in a burning building. Nobody believed he would ever accomplish anything. But eleven years after polio struck, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was sworn in as the 32nd President of the United States. In his inaugural address, Roosevelt delivered his now famous phrase, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
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