Confronting fear
by Pastor Greg Fowler
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The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear? (Psalm 27:1)
The great American president Franklin Roosevelt said about the Depression, ‘All we have to fear is fear itself’. This classic piece of oratory put the troubles of the time into perspective. Of course, there was unemployment and a lack of income. There was uncertainty about the future, but there was always a reason to hope. Roosevelt called upon the nation to not let the emotion of the time overtake the events. There were ways to combat the problems, which his famous New Deal showed. The president was saying don’t make the problems big and the solutions small.
Centuries before Roosevelt, the psalmist similarly encouraged the people of God. If God is my light, then what problem could possibly put me in the shade? We do not need to fear events or people because our God is bigger than all these things. We need to hear this truth because our eyes can focus on the problem, and our minds can fixate on worry rather than the promise of God.
Today, we face many threats. We know what it is like to live with a global pandemic. We know what it is like to live with geopolitical uncertainty in our region and war in Europe. We know what it’s like to live in a society more polarised than before. Yet we do not fear these things. We have faith in God, who is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. We trust in the salvation of the creator and sustainer of the universe. Diseases come and go; nations rise and fall. Public opinion is constantly changing. These things are not bigger than our God.
Lord God, may we see you in your majesty and power. May we recognise you are more than any problem we face. Take away our fear and give us your peace. Amen.
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