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The level of fear in this country escalated one hundred percent on April 19, 1995, the day of the terrible tragedy in Oklahoma City-the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building.  Oklahoma City is in the heartland of the United States of America.  Terrorists acts occurred in other parts of the world but up to that time not in the United States.  Perhaps it was on April 19, 1995, that we in the United States realized anew just how vulnerable we all are.  Whether it pertains to terrorists’ warnings, an approaching hurricane, anxiety over the outcome of the presidential election, a serious illness, an unsettled economy, border issues Job loss or other, fear is ever present.

Now, hear the glorious words of the psalmist.  In the midst of his fears he says, “…yet I will be confident” psalm 27:3).  That’s what we need-confidence, as we face all our enemies (our fears).  So, like this psalmist, how do we get this confidence to live above our fears?

First, the source of our confidence is God!  The plain truth is our fears grow out of our forgetfulness of him.  When our fears cause us to panic, it’s a sure sign we need more of God.  Note that when the Palmist faced his fear his first thought was about God and his need of God.  “The Lord is my light and and my salvation-whom shall I fear?” stated the psalmist.  His thoughts focused on God’s guidance, deliverance, strength and protection.  As people of faith, we believe that God is able to complete that which God has begun in us.  Therefore, we do not need to worry about our “imaginary fears.”  Our God can handle the future as well as the past.  I love the way someone expressed it: “Fear knocked at the door, Faith answered, and there was no one there.”

Second, the avenue of our confidence is love!  A number of years ago our youngest son was kidnapped near Hillsboro, Texas.  He was held hostage in a country service station for several hours.  All that time a deranged man held a knife at his throat.  My wife and I didn’t know anything about the incident until it was over and our son was safe.  The law enforcement agent had to shoot the man while he was still holding out son hostage.  As you might imagine I’ve thought about that situation scores of times, since.  At those times, I’ve thought it was probably just as well that we didn’t know about the incident until it was over.  Because I’m sure our son’s mother would have gone into that store after him.  And I like to think that his father would have too.  You see, love casts out fear.  Simply stated, either the fear casts out love or love drives fear.  They cannot live together in the same heart.

Third, the shield of our confidence is the long view!  The late Thomas Merton said, “The real hope is not something we think we can do, but in God who is making something good out of it in some way we cannot see.”  The long view enables us to see God’s guiding hand not only in the gentle and pleasant moments, but also in the scary shadows of disappointment, darkness and fear.  Repeating, the source of our confidence is God.  The Avenue of our confidence is love and the shield of our confidence is the Longview.  I close with the words of the psalmist. In the midst of all his fears he stated, “…yet I will be confident.”