Psalms 55:4-5 – “My heart is in… anguish within me, And the terrors of death have fallen upon me. 5 Fear and trembling come upon me, And horror has overwhelmed me.” NASB

What a beautiful morning it is today! 

As my day began and in my prayer time, I was reminded of an event that happened when I was a child regarding fear.  As a child, we had a pet that was a treasured member of the family.  A smaller-than-average Cocker Spaniel with satin black hair. My dad was a raccoon (coon) hunter and would take his hounds out at night and hunt raccoons, or “coons” as he called them, with his coon dogs.

This little Cocker always tried to go, and one night, Dad let us take her along.  A few hours later, we had treed a coon with his two blue tick hounds named “Rough” & “Rowdy,” and while trying to get the coon to jump out of the tree, Dad killed it with his rifle.

As the raccoon fell to the ground, the little Cocker ran up and grabbed it in her mouth, and just as she did, she Froze in Fear!  The look on her face and in her eyes was priceless; nothing we could do would get her to release the dead animal. Dad made us walk away and leave her there while we continued to hunt.

I was fearful that she would get lost or not overcome her fear and we would lose her, but he assured me that she would be okay. Well, about 30 minutes later, she sheepishly came walking up to where we were sitting, listening to the dogs trail, and laid down beside me. She never again grabbed a fallen raccoon and did not stray more than a few feet from me or my brother that night.

• FEAR had paralyzed her.
• We are like that in our lives.  
• She was paralyzed by fear.

David said in Psalm 56:3 – “When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You.” Isaiah said in Isaiah 12:2 – “Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid….” Luke 21 speaks of men’s hearts failing them for fear of what they see coming on the earth.

We are told in Hebrews 11 that without faith, it is impossible to please God, but when paralyzed by fear, we cannot have faith because fear negates trust. Fear is a greater enemy of faith than doubt, or at least as great.

Paralyzing fear immobilizes and imprisons one, whereas the fear of the Lord inspires us because it sometimes drives us to Him. I have known both kinds of fear in my life, and although the paralyzing fear caused me never to want to be in that situation again and made me cautious, it did not produce faith or trust but terror. On the other hand, the fear that directed me to the Lord, and as I beheld Him, found my trust level elevated and my faith level rising, is a fear that I value.

Therefore, even in the most horrifying of situations, if we have conditioned our hearts to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” and have learned, as David & Isaiah, to trust, we will find ourselves walking in an attitude of quiet confidence Knowing that God is In Control!  Therefore, our fears will dissipate in the presence of His Power!   

My prayer today is that we move from the paralyzing type of fear into the trust-producing fear of the Lord and, in any situation that would cause fear or dread, be met with His assurance to bring Peace!

May the manifold blessings of heaven be yours today and every day!