“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 27:1
This is one of those verses I have gripped tightly to when FEAR had a TIGHT grip around me. I am pretty open here about my struggle with fear because… 1. I want to keep it real with y’all and, 2. I have experienced some serious peace even in the midst of some of my deepest fears as I have spent time meditating on and memorizing God’s precious promises. Our home was broken into almost a decade ago when we were out of town one weekend, and I struggled each night to go to bed after it happened. It wasn’t that I was so upset about our stuff being taken. It was more this sense that our safety and privacy felt violated, and I could hardly sleep at all.
So I wrote this verse on a few notecards and put them on my mirror, on my bedside table, by my front door, my backdoor and our side porch door. I’d say this verse over and over again many nights without “feeling” that it was true. “Of whom shall I be afraid?” “OF THE ROBBERS WHO BROKE INTO OUR HOUSE AND MIGHT HARM ME IF I HAPPENED TO BE HERE WHEN THEY CAME TO TAKE OUR STUFF! That’s who!”
I’d talk with God about this each night, but slowly something started to shift in my heart. As I began to cling to this verse, I began to remember that Christ is always clinging tightly to me. I began to feel more brave when I imagined that God had a STRONG HOLD on me, and that even if my worst fear happened, life or death... nothing could take me away from His embrace. This was and is a deep comfort to me.
Lord, thank you that we don’t ever have to be afraid, because whatever we are facing, YOU ARE WITH US. Not even death can separate us from Your love. Thank you for being our stronghold and help me to hold on with all my strength to You on the days that fear tries to knock the wind out of me.
