Day 73 with David: Threats from mere mortals are nothing compared to the Lord.

“Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You. In God (I will praise His word), In God I have put my trust; I will not fear. What can flesh do to me?”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭56:3-4‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

It seems that every day we hear another horrible account of some terrible act that has been perpetrated by our fellow human beings. Everywhere you look it seems that you can find a reason to fear what other people are going to do. Tragically, basic respect for human life is woefully missing in some people in our society.

Additionally, whereas the threat of bodily harm is real and understandable, there are also other ways in which we may fear other people, causing us to live less than victorious lives.

For example, have you ever allowed self-consciousness to keep you from doing something you really wanted to do? Well, if you haven’t, then put a hand in my direction; because I have. I am ashamed to say that there was even a time that I fell short of my calling because of fear of what people would say or think about me.

And then there’s the issue of being afraid to engage with other people for fear of being hurt—not bodily—but emotionally. Some people, whether consciously or unconsciously, can’t be open with other people for fear of rejection or hurt.

Sadly, some people actually become so overwhelmed with the fear of what other people are going to do, that they become extremely isolated and alienated, choosing to live the life of a hermit. Whatever it is you are fearing, whatever harm you are striving to avoid, fear of man can definitely cause you to live a miserable life; and worse, can make you fail the Lord and miss your calling.

Fearing what other people will do, think, etc., has often caused the people of God to displease the Lord and turn from Him. We see this dynamic writ large in God’s word; so many times, the children of Israel’s fear in this regard, caused them to turn to other nations, other men, to help, rather than turning to the Lord. On one such occasion, the Lord said something we would do well to remember:

“Now the Egyptians are men and not God, And their horses are flesh and not spirit; And the Lord will stretch out His hand, And he (Egypt) who helps will stumble, And he (Judah) who is helped will fall, And all of them will perish together.”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭31:3‬ ‭AMP‬‬

Here we see the reminder that there is an immeasurable difference between what men and flesh can do and what God and spirit can do. And yet, again, it’s often other flesh that we fear.

In our portion from Psalms today we see David making the proclamation that he overcomes his fear by remembering the difference between mere mortal man and God. This was not an uncommon thing for David and is found in many other places throughout his writings. As a matter of fact, we can find him expressing that even armies coming against him, are nothing compared to the power of the Lord (for example, Psalms 27:3).

In whatever way fear of man may be negatively impacting your life, wait no longer, place your eyes on the Lord, allowing Him to fill your vision to the point that the threat of man is completely obscured by your Father (Who He is and what He has promised)!

For today let us know and understand what David knew:

Threats from mere mortals are nothing compared to the Lord.

#100dayswithdavid