You will not be afraid of destruction

You will not be afraid of the terror by night,
Or of the arrow that flies by day;
Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
Or of the destruction that lays waste at noon. Psalm 91:5-6

About ten years ago I felt led to pray Psalm 91 “a thousand times.” I’ve probably done so, but according to my log, I’m only in the 770’s (I tend to forget to mark it down). But when I DO finally scratch off #1000, I know I’ll keep going…because Psalm 91 is potent!

I started writing my thoughts about this psalm verse by verse a few years ago, but got refocused on other things while writing about verses five and six. And now it’s high time to pick this thread back up—with the second half of verse six:

You will not be afraid of the destruction that lays waste at noon.

I love how this Psalm blatantly states what seems to be emotionally impossible considering the onslaught of scary news blasting our way on a regular basis.

This is what the Word of God declares—you will not be afraid of destruction that lays waste at noon.

Fear is powerful. Tyrants of all generations have used it to control populations to bend them to their will. Fear of the unknown, fear of the dark, fear of sudden attack, fear of sickness, fear of “If you don’t do as I say, you’ll suffer greatly,” spoken out of the mouths of those who purport to know better than the rest of us continue to haunt people who simply want to live and let live.

I have found that the best way for me to live fearlessly is to recognize fear as soon as it starts to take hold and to face off with it. However, in the past I chose to pretend that I wasn’t afraid; I pretended that nothing all that bad was going on, and I simply buried my head in the sand, closing my eyes to reality. Instead of trusting God, I trusted my own imaginary ability to pretend away danger. This was an exercise in futility; this was NOT an exercise of faith in God.

So how do you face off with fear once you recognize it in yourself? Best way I’ve found is to first acknowledge it to God, and then prayerfully go to His Word and find those scriptures that bring comfort, strength, and the ability to resist both the fear AND the thing that created fear in the first place.

I was a natural born scaredy cat; but when I started turning to the Word to combat my fears, I found it a very effective weapon. Even now, when “things go bump in the night” or frightening news grips my emotions, I unashamedly turn to Psalm 56:3 (which, I know from experience, is easily memorized!), “What time I am afraid, I will trust in YOU.”

No one should be made to feel ashamed when dealing with fear. It happens. But when it does, forge a fast path to the One who can help you—who won’t condemn you—but who will give you all that you need to stand in the face of it while He covers you.

I have also learned that instead of allowing my imagination to play all the different scenarios of destruction over and over again, I am to take those thoughts captive (not ignore them or pretend them away) to the obedience of Christ while I declare my trust in Him to help me, come hell or high water.

In addition, I’ve learned that I don’t have to tell Him HOW to help me. He is very capable of doing so in a multitude of creative, jaw-dropping ways. I merely trust Him to do so, and He does. Often it is rather mundane appearing; but now and then He has astonished me with such inexplicable deliverances from danger that I know beyond a shadow of a doubt—this was God.

Psalm 91:5-6 describes four of the most common fears experienced by the human race. Terror by night; the arrow (bullets, too) that fly by day; disease that stalks in darkness; and destruction that lays waste at noon. And yet, to those of us who “dwell in the secret place of the Most High and who abide under the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91:1), we have Someone to turn to when we face those fears.

Remember, He does not expect any of us to be fearless apart from Him…He knows none of us are Superman or Wonder Woman, even if we pretend to be. We simply put our trust in Him when we are afraid, knowing that He will never fail us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).

One more thing—His faithfulness is your shield and buckler (Psalm 91:4, last part). You may not have a whole lot of faith in your own faith, but that’s not all that necessary. Why not? Because it’s HIS faithfulness—to you and to His Word—that shields you. You merely need to trust that HE IS faithful, and that takes care of the faith factor. Your faith works because HE IS FAITHFUL, and when you put your trust in that fact, His faithfulness WILL be your shield and your buckler.

Thankful for the faithfulness of God!

Dorothy

© 2023, Dorothy Frick