For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints. 1 Corinthians 14:33, NKJV
Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen. Romans 15:33, NKJV
And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. Romans 16:20, NKJV
Below, the devotional highlighted the relationship between David (before he was crowned king) and King Saul, who was also his father-in-law. Saul was generally angry at David and regularly pursued him so as to kill him. This may not be the best comparison to my situation, but what stood out to me was how, right before David sang/prayed/composed the words to Psalm 34, he had fled from Saul to the king of one of Saul's (and Israel's) enemies and feigned madness before him. (1 Samuel 21:10-15, NKJV) Desperate times call for desperate measures, but this desperate measure worked. And of course, David praised God for delivering him as a result:
I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. Psalm 34:1, NKJV
One of the things that has been called out in me was that I had expected therapy to fix it for me whereas, because I was no longer surviving past traumas, I would also no longer need to ever have to survive traumas in the future. Even for a man whose heart was after God's own heart (Acts 13:22, NKJV), David still had to deal with traumas throughout his life all the way to the end.
On this note, let us proceed with the devotional...
Give God Your Fears
Where do you turn in times of difficulty? Who do you reach out to when something happens? All of us need other people in our life who can help us through tough times. We cannot make it through life alone, we should always have people who can help us.
However, when something happens in our life, our first reaction should be to come to God first. While other people can help meet our physical needs, God is the only one who can meet our deepest needs.
Where do you turn in times of difficulty? Who do you reach out to when something happens? All of us need other people in our life who can help us through tough times. We cannot make it through life alone, we should always have people who can help us.
However, when something happens in our life, our first reaction should be to come to God first. While other people can help meet our physical needs, God is the only one who can meet our deepest needs.
I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.
Just as God answered the writer of Psalm 34, God is also ready and available to us through prayer. God is not hidden or far away. He is present, and waiting for us to spend time with Him. Because He is the one who created us, He knows everything about us. He knows how we feel and exactly what we need.
The psalmist says that God delivered him from all of his fears. God desires to deliver you from your fears as well. In Philippians 4:6-7, God’s Word says to not be anxious or fearful about anything, but rather, go to God in prayer, and He will give us peace. God is the source of all peace and security, but we need to go to Him with our fears.
Psalm 34:5 says that those who spend time with God will be free of shame. As we are freed from the mistakes of our past, we will begin to walk in the newness of life. When we walk with God through life, we walk in the light that He provides, rather than the darkness of the world around us. He protects us from harm and keeps us from shame.
God is waiting to spend time with you and give you His peace. Spend some time today in prayer, asking God to remove your fears and replace them with His strength.