Whom Shall I Fear?
Faith Can Help Navigate Impossible Situations
by Eric Elkin
“The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?”
Psalm 27 opens with this question, "Whom shall I fear?" The question is not really a question but a statement. The psalmist is confident there is nothing to fear. The words struck me as pertinent to the current world stage me this morning. It seems like we have been swimming in a pool of fear for the last two years.
These last two years, I have learned news no longer comes to our homes at 6 pm and 10 pm. The grand marshal of wisdom and sanity, Walter Cronkite, is dead. Information is a 24-hr a day business. So many reporters and commentators are no longer bound by the standard of confirming and double-checking sources. An opinion creatively shared is good enough to be the truth.
The list of threats is endless these days. I have been told to fear Democrats, Republicans, masks, vaccines, gas prices, critical race theory, political correctness, cultural sensitivity, my neighbor, foreigners, immigrant hordes, etc. The options are so great I cannot keep them all straight. Some people have even lectured me I do not fear enough.
In one of the darkest days in U. S. history, President Roosevelt told a fearful nation, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." FDR, where are you now? We could use a deep breath of your optimism. Even as I write that line, I am sure someone will tell me I should fear the impact of President Roosevelt's policies.
“You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’ You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”
During our confirmation class last Sunday, Pastor Grant Spencer shared a video of a conversation between two pastors. A pastor in Minnesota reached out to a colleague in Lviv, Ukraine. He wanted to hear how the pastor and his congregation were doing.
The Ukrainian pastor, Rev. Volodymyr Prokip, shared an interesting observation. He said people who had fled Ukraine were actually more anxious than those who remained behind. Now, granted, Lviv is not currently an area of direct fighting. However, I thought the pastor's comment enlightening. The perception of what could be happening generates greater fear than being present and seeing what is taking place.
Listening to the video, I was reminded how many people have told me faith helped them navigate impossible situations. I can cite times where trust in God has been an overwhelming source of confidence in my own life. A type of confidence that has helped protect and save me.
Pastor Prokip was confident about his role in the conflict. He was to provide a sanctuary for the people of Lviv. A resting place for the fearful. To him, fear was more destructive than any threat driving towards his home. His words reminded me every house of worship should be a resting place for wounded people. This is not suggesting the church be a hiding place. Quite the contrary, this type of rest gives the confidence to meet the day's challenges in the hope that goodness will be seen.
Click to read Psalm 27
Reflection Questions:
What do you fear most this day?
How much of this fear is perception of what could happen?
What has helped you cope with fear?
What does trusting in God look like to you today?
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