Confessing faith in the face of fear

(Remind me to add a postscript to our earlier Psalm 27 entry.)

John and James speak to us about confessing our sins – I John 1:9 (to God) and James 5:16 (to one another). Needs to be done. Sincerely and consistently. How so? Because the Lord can help us a lot as long as we are honest about our lives. He can’t do much with pretense. Same as with a parent-child relationship. Perfection in a child is not expected but honesty is. Else, you don’t know who or what you really have in front of you. Right?

Well, how about confessing my fears – being open and honest about them? Does not God also want that from me, or would He be ashamed to hear it? And, is that not how trust in the Lord is exercised, through being open about my struggles and equally open about my confidence that the Lord is my Help and Hope? If not, why not? One cannot look at the Psalms for long without hearing their authors speaking with God about their fears. Check for yourself. Examples are all over the place. Well, if that was okay for them why is it not for me as His child in Jesus? And the good news is: biblical authors did more than record and confess their fears. They confessed faith in the face of their fears.

That being said, see what you think of the following confessions which contain both the problem of fear and the answer of faith:

Lord, my fears have made me feel so alone – but I know that is a lie, for You are always near. I trust in You.

Lord, my fears seem to be overwhelming – but I am Yours, and nothing is greater than You. I trust in You.

Lord, my fears make me feel so weak – but You are my rock and shelter. I trust in You.

Lord, my fears are trying to stop me from going forward – but You are my strength. I will go on. I trust in You.

Lord, my fears seem as if they never will end – but only You are eternal and You will have the last word. I trust in You.

Lord, my fears make me feel like a failure – but I know You are pleased with me and understand. I trust in You.

Lord, my fears make me feel ashamed – but I know You spoke about fear to even the most brave-hearted. I trust in You.

We all are different. Each of us handles things differently. That surely is true of how we go about prayer and communion with God. So, the above thoughts are simply there if you find them helpful in dealing with fear (or anything else) in your thought and prayer life.

(Oops, thanks for reminding me about that p.s. to our prior article on Psalm 27. Here it is: Psalm 27 is not about fear. It is about FEARLESS FAITH! That is our ambition, right? Enjoy it again and see what you think.

robert