Psalm 34:4: I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.
Today’s verse is penned by King David at a time when he pretended to be mad before Abimilech in hopes that he would let him go. Given this scenario, the verse he writes seems a little disconnected. If David believes in God, and he proclaims that God delivers him from all his fears, why would He feel compelled to fake acting like a mad man? Seems like he is taking the situation into his own hands instead of relying on God to deal with what he’s fearing.
As great a man of faith King David was, he was still very human. The Bible documents his failures in great detail, yet he is viewed as a “man after Gods own heart”. This should come as great comfort to those of us who have made more than our share of mistakes and committed more failures and sins than we would like to confess. God sees beyond our fleshly failures and focuses on our spiritual condition and forming us into the image of His Son, Jesus. This doesn’t mean he ignores our sin, but He prefers to forgive us for these sins, so their hold on us is eliminated and we’re free to love God and others. King David’s words in light of his actions give us a glimpse into the glorious grace of God.
What is significant about this verse is King David isn’t claiming God delivers him, or us, from our circumstances – He delivers us from our fears. Can God deliver us from our painful or scary circumstances? Of course! With God all things are possible! However, He may not. The promise King David is making in today’s verse is that God delivers us from our fears. Our circumstances can create fear, and fear leads to all kinds of bad things including, but not at all limited to, anger, violence, depression, loneliness, and isolation.
Fear comes from a lack of trust in being in a safe place. So how do we come to trust and feel safe? King David tells us to seek the Lord. What does that mean? It means to pursue a knowledge of God and His true character. With the arrival of Jesus, and His finished saving work on the Cross, we have the greatest possible demonstration of God’s love for us. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Our actions don’t warrant God’s love – He loves us despite our actions. Can you say that? Can you love someone who not only shows no love for you, but also intentionally does things to insult or slander you? If you’re honest, without God’s Spirit dwelling in you, the answer to that question should be a resounding “no”!
1 John 4:18 tells us “perfect love casts out all fear.” God is perfect, and God is love; therefore, if we come to truly trust and believe in God’s perfect love for us, then we can enter into a place of His safety – a place that exists nowhere else in this world. When you are comfortable in the complete safety that God’s love always provides, then, regardless of the scary nature of your circumstances, you can operate within them with no fear. This is what the Apostle Paul is basing his statement that true faith – true belief – true trust in God’s love brings a peace that passes all understanding. If you’re at peace, then you have no fear.
You may be thinking this all sounds a lot easier than it really is. This is only the case if you’re trying to rationalize these truths of Scripture in your flesh. Satan is going to bombard you with lies challenging the truth and voracity of God’s Word and His promises. Satan wants to instill fear in you. God wants to deliver you from fear. Which sounds better? Seek the Lord, and you’ll have nothing to fear.