For this lent season, I am doing a forty-day study in the Psalms looking for aspects of the atonement that will end around Easter. My hope is to generate a newfound awe of what Christ did on the cross.
Psalm 27:1
[27:1] 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?
The Bible is littered with God saying to his people “do not be afraid” in the New Testament Jesus constantly told His disciples “do not be afraid”. It almost seems like a command. What does fear look like for you? What are you consistently afraid of? Can you just turn off your fear? Have you ever considered your fear as sinful?
I believe fear is horizontal thinking, meaning I'm letting my lateral environment dictate my safety. This sin is called “fear of man” which means being overtaken by the approval of man. That man has the power when God really IS the power. We have two positions, our position before man and our position before God. We need to live out of our position before God not man.
When Jesus stood before Pontus Pilate Jesus wasn't begging for His life; although I think Pilate wanted Jesus to beg for his life. Pilate was positioning himself as the power to take Jesus’ life or save his life yet Jesus did not give him that power. Matter-of-fact Jesus said, “you don't take my life, I freely give it up”. Jesus was more interested in his position before God the Father then Pilate the earthly king. Jesus lived vertical. Even though man was doing the ultimate evil upon Him by crucifying Him Jesus did not let man define what the cross was. He did not humble Himself to man he humbled Himself to God the Father to the point of death. Now because of what Jesus did on the cross we get to live out of our reverence of God not reverence of man. The psalmist says, “the Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is my stronghold of my life; who shall I be afraid of”? God is showing us that He is our strength so we do not have permission to be afraid of man.
Ask God where does your fear lay? What are you afraid of today? Ask God to fulfill this promise in Psalm 27 in your soul. May you rejoice of what Christ did on the cross so you have nothing to be afraid of today and most definitely tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment