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MARCH 22
SELF-CENTERED FEAR
“The Lord is my light and my saviour— whom shall I fear? The Lord is the
defender of my life— of whom shall I be afraid?” (Ps 26/27:1)
The opposite of faith is self-reliance, which breeds fear and anxiety.
Whenever I cease to lead a God-centered life, whenever I neglect to put
myself, everything, and everyone in His hands, I am left alone to play God
on the stage of my concerns, challenges, situations, and relationships. Of
course I inevitably find that I’m ill-suited for this role, because my own
shoulders are simply too insecure a foundation for the burdens of the
world. This insecurity is what brings all sorts of fear into my life, like fear
of people’s opinions, of failure, or of economic insecurity.
Faith turns all of this around. And by faith I don’t mean just holding “firm
beliefs” in my mind, or going to church once a week. By faith I mean letting
God’s grace into my life, by connecting with Him, in prayer, on a daily
basis. I mean letting Him into the picture of any situation, relationship,
or “plan” for the future.
Let me let Him in today, and ask Him, at least briefly, to do for me what I
cannot do for myself. I need not fear when I walk in His kingdom, where
He alone is King. “For Thine” – not mine – “is the kingdom, the power,
and the glory, of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, now and
ever, and unto the ages of ages.” Amen!
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