Psalm 56:3 says:
What time I am afraid,
I will trust in thee.
A defining mark of a Christian is trust in the Lord; resting in his Fatherly disposal of every circumstance. Our trust is in the Lord.
This doesn’t mean that Christians are never afraid. Even mature Christians have security systems installed in their homes. Trusting in the Lord goes hand in hand with common sense safety precautions. So, it is no lack of trust to lock your doors at night or to take medicine for a disease.
But at the same time, we know that our trust must ultimately be in Christ alone. He has fully paid for our sins and has set us free from all the power of the devil. And he preserves us in such a way that not a hair can fall from our head without the will of our Father in heaven. In fact, all things must work together for our salvation.
Based on these truths we are to submit all of our fears to the Lord who watches over us. To trust in any created thing as if it had God’s power to protect us, or to fear any created thing as if it had God’s power to hurt us is terribly sinful.
As we walk with Christ we begin seeing which of our fears are good and natural, and which have become immoderate and consuming to our soul. And, as we submit our fears to our heavenly Father we demonstrate grace-filled humanity to a world that is overwhelmed with fear.
This reminds us of our need to confess our sin, so let’s pray now.
(Sections of this exhortation borrow language both from the Heidelberg Catechism as well as Triumphing Over Sinful Fear by John Flavel)