The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid
Psalms 118:6-7 - Faith has done more to extinguish fear than any pill could ever do.
“The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? The Lord is with me; he is my helper. I look in triumph on my enemies.”
Psalms 118:6-7 NIV
Those of you who have been Heaven On Wheels readers for a while know that I love the Psalms and Proverbs. Any time that God points me to them for a devotional, I’m more than happy to explore the works of David, Solomon, and the other writers.
David Guzik, in Enduring Word, notes that Psalm 118 was likely one of King David’s psalms, as it is suggested in the Book of Ezra that it was sung at the dedication of the founding of the second temple and attributed to David. Psalm 118 in its entirety is considered to be the favorite psalm of Jesus, as He recited it at the Last Supper. Martin Luther also loved Psalm 118, saying:
“This is my own beloved psalm. Although the entire Psalter and all of Holy Scripture are dear to me as my only comfort and source of life, I fell in love with this psalm especially. Therefore I call it my own. When emperors and kings, the wise and the learned, and even saints could not aid me, this psalm proved a friend and helped me out of many great troubles. As a result, it is dearer to me than all the wealth, honor, and power of the pope, the Turk, and the emperor. I would be most unwilling to trade this psalm for all of it.”
Today’s verses are just a fraction of the entire psalm, and would be useful to memorize for those times where you might find yourself in a desperate situation. What’s the worst that could happen to you? You might be killed by other “mere mortals”. Jesus has given us victory over death with the promise of a resurrection life, so even that note of finality loses its power over us.
Charles Spurgeon notes that:
“He does not say that he should not suffer, but that he would not fear: the favour of God infinitely outweighed the hatred of men, therefore setting the one against the other he felt that he had no reason to be afraid.”
Spurgeon quoted another commentator who said:
“We know very well the great anxiety shown by men, in all their worldly conflicts, to secure the aid of a powerful ally; in their lawsuits, to retain the services of a powerful advocate; or, in their attempts at worldly advancement, to win the friendship and interest of those who can further the aims they have in view.... If such and such a person be on their side, men think that all must go well. Who so well off as he who is able to say, ‘The Lord is on my side’?” (Power, cited in Spurgeon)
For most of my life, I suffered from severe anxiety. Two things have removed the power of fear in my life in the past 20 years: a prescription anti-anxiety medication I am now tapering off of, and having faith in Jesus Christ. Faith has done more to extinguish fear than any pill could ever do.
Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:
Father, I thank You that You are my God, and that my faith shields me from anything that man can do to harm or unnerve me. May I always focus my thoughts and my heart on You with reverence and trust. You have promised that those who trust in You are safe from the worst that any human adversary can do, and that fills my soul with peace. I love You and thank You in the name of Your Son and my Savior, Jesus. AMEN.
Scripture quotations taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica US, Inc.®. Used by permission.
Commentary quotations from Enduring Word are used with the written permission of the author
Amen👆👆👆