Fear is not from God, in fact He wants to give us the opposite- His spirit of love. As we grow in our relationship with Jesus, we will begin to believe that God is on our side. Jesus is not out to hurt us but out to help us know Him for who He truly is – the God of love, not the God of condemnation. When we recognize His goodness, it is easier to trust Him, even when we are afraid. David had a lot to be afraid of, even though he had been anointed king of Israel, he still felt afraid! Because of the continual attempts from Saul and his army to kill David, he was not able to walk past his fear or to put it down for any length of time. When David felt afraid, he chose to turn to the God of His salvation and be real….he feels the emotion as he talks out his plight with God. Sometimes, after going to the Lord with his fearful heart, he still felt afraid! He was not able to release all the fear because there were layers packed within his heart. Then even though he was still afraid, he chose to put his trust in God, in spite of his feelings. In other words, David held on to the Lord’s hand, even though he still felt fear and was able to keep moving forward in God’s plan for his life. Just like a child who is afraid to cross the street alone- he or she holds their father’s hand to cross over, because they trust in his love and judgment. When we are afraid, let’s follow David’s example- attempt to talk out our fear and release to it God. Then if we are still afraid, let’s hold on to the Lord’s hand and try to trust Him-even if it’s just a little bit of trust. Small trust will gradually grow into big trust, and big trust will gradually grow into believing faith.

“What time I am afraid, I will have confidence in and put my trust and reliance in You” (Psalm 56:3).