The term “fear” here means “fear, be afraid of”. Fear brings fatalism; faith brings futurism. We will deal with four kinds of fear experienced in this text.
FEAR OF DARKNESS
Question: What do you do if you are afraid of the dark? Use a nightlight. In the face of great difficulty, David says: “Yahweh is MY light”. Psalm 27: 1John 1:4. Notice the word “my”. It is possessive, as was Thomas’ response to Jesus in John 20:28. The word light is “aor” meaning “source of light and salvation”. The two are equated here, in that light exposes darkness and hence, salvation or rescue comes. The rescue here is a physical rescue from enemies, but it certainly means salvation is in the greatest sense. The term light here is in the abstract form, so it is not something you can touch; it is not concrete. But this Light can touch you!
It says, “Whom shall I fear”? It does not say “What shall I fear?”. We never really fear things; we mostly fear whomever is behind those things, ideas, control. Fear, in its ultimate purpose is a tool of Satan which he uses to control our choices.
Why should I fear? God is also my stronghold or strength. Here the light turns on and I see the light instead of the darkness around me. Recall that the enemy here is using words as weapons against David (verse 2), in an effort to “eat him alive”. We need to be like the casualties in the film “Alive”, where we do not feel anyone gnawing at us because we are dead to this world (Romans 6).
FEAR OF ENCLOSED PLACES – verse 3.
Question: What if you feel closed in? Thank God someone is in there with you. Daniel’s friends experienced what it meant to have the worst happen in the fiery furnace experience and then realize that God was with them in the furnace (Daniel 3: 25).
In Psalms 27: 3 the word “encamp” is “hanah”, a verb meaning “decline, bend down, encamp, settle at”. It basically means when one gets comfortable and sits down and sets a camp around. There are times when the enemy just says he isn’t going to budge.
Then David says, “though war (battle) breaks out against me . . . I will be confident in God.” The term “batach” means “trust about things”. We can trust God in every situation. Also, my heart (which is the seat of the emotions) will not fear, for I have a choice to choose God’s answer. I reject Satan’s spirit of fear – 2 Timothy 1: 7. Why, in looming darkness, can I be confident? Why trust when I feel closed in?
Because I made a choice to flee in a positive sense to God – verse 4.
I chose to seek God and His presence and made my one imprisoned call to Him.
I inquired (“bafer” means “inquire, seek, look for, contemplate”), dwelt (“abide in or live in – not just a rescue place”), beheld him (“hazort” means “see, behold or perceive with an inner vision, look on intensely with gratification”) and saw His beauty (“nasa” meaning “pleasant, delightfulness”). Notice the progression from inquiry, living with Him, seeing Him in His beauty.
I also ran into the fortress of God; I didn’t flee into greater fear.
The results in verses 5-6 show David hidden in His shelter, concealed (“sathar”, hiding place) in the day of trouble under His tent, covering (tent is the perspective of the tabernacle, the God who is on the move and protects His people). David is also set on a high rock, which is a place of rest and high visibility, but it is too distant for the enemy to reach. (Who is the rock upon which we lean?) Additionally, David’s head is lifted up above the encirclers (“bayabot”, meaning “parts around, those round about” – it is a term of plurality). The head is usually down when in fear. Ephesians 1:3 reminds us we are lifted up in Christ, and Ephesians 1: 22 shows us that no matter what part of the body of Christ we are, we are still higher than the enemy himself. The great victory here is that while we feel closed in, God Himself has made a hedge around us with Himself. He surrounds us with joy.
FEAR OF ANGER – CONFLICT – verses 7-9a.
One of the things we shun away from is anger; especially when the anger comes from someone we look up to, love, or are submissive to. This fear can cause awful anticipated conflict and many times the fear is worse than the actual event or conflict. Certainly the fear makes our perspective altered and affects judgment. Here, there is a cry to the Lord, for when the Lord said “seek my face”, He meant it and that reminds us that God is not mad at us; He invites us to Himself.
It is important that we do not feel God’s face is hidden from us. If we feel that, we will allow the fear and/or anger to barricade us from the only one who can free us. So, if you feel someone’s attitude towards you has changed, particularly in the form of anger against you, you must go beyond the fear to find out if something, in fact, is keeping you from a better relationship. If we feel God is angry with us (based on our continual problems, for example), we might be drawing the wrong conclusion. Go to God in any circumstance!
FEAR OF ABANDONMENT – verses 9b-10.
Man’s greatest fear is of abandonment and rejection, so Jesus said “He would never leave us nor forsake us”. Sometimes when we are in difficulty we think we have been abandoned like a sinking ship.
This is what moved Jesus to sweating droplets of blood in Gethsemane. It wasn’t that He feared a rejection; but He knew by taking our sins on Himself that this would separate Him from His Father and Jesus had never experienced that in all eternity before. Therefore, Jesus experienced the ultimate separation and now He can help us with any lesser kinds of abandonment. Psalm 27: 10, says that if parents abandon a child God will not abandon you. (This is the root of many emotional troubles – feeling abandoned or actually being neglected.) God is saying that if the worst happens and your parents aren’t there for you, I WILL BE.
Question: WHAT WILL BE OUR FUTURE IF WE CHOOSE NOT TO LIVE BY FEAR?
Verses 11-14.
We will be teachable – verse 11. Fear closes our minds and affects our receptibility.
We will be led by God easier, for He will lead us on a level path (“yashar”, which means “level, free from obstacles; is figurative for safe place, comfort”). This level path keeps us from the high mountains and low valleys, for the enemy can hide in uneven levels of ground, emotions, etc. This is the reason why Vietnam was difficult.
We will be delivered (fear keeps us bound to Satan) – verse 12. God will deliver us to be freed from accusations and lies, two of Satan’s tools that keep fear alive.
We will begin to believe in the goodness of God. We will not see Him as a tyrant. Verse 13. Fear keeps us viewing God in a negative, unloving sense, restrictive, instead of liberating. Fear believes in evil, bad triumphing; faith believes in God’s goodness triumphing – Psalm 4: 6. If we do not see God truthfully, we will faint, be exhausted, and have difficulty in appropriating God’s promises.
We will be able to wait easier (Isaiah 40:31). Fear has a tendency to make us panic and react fatalistically. Here will we have courage (John’s 16: 33) for God will strengthen our heart, and give us peace. The term “amatz” means “to exhibit strength”.
The conclusion should be that with our fear in God’s hands, we will exhibit more strength than we expected; with fear in our minds, we will see darkness, feel closed in and panicked, we will sense rejection, and we will anticipate anger and conflict. Let’s choose God today.