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Pray
Ask God to orient or reorient you to Himself. Confess any known sin. Thank Him for His forgiveness. Be still and reflect on Jesus and His sacrifice for you. Ask the Holy Spirit to open your heart and mind to God’s Word. Pray for others in your life that they, too, would know and love God today.
Read
Psalm 55:6-11
“6 I said, “Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest. 7 I would flee far away and stay in the desert; 8I would hurry to my place of shelter, far from the tempest and storm.” 9 Lord, confuse the wicked, confound their words, for I see violence and strife in the city. 10 Day and night they prowl about on its walls; malice and abuse are within it. 11 Destructive forces are at work in the city; threats and lies never leave its streets.”
Understand
Fear can evoke a desire for us to run from danger. We often call this fear the “fight or flight” response.
In this passage, David says “Oh that I had the wings of a dove!” David wants out of this scary situation…if only he could just fly away!
I can imagine David walking around and trying to come to grip with the fear he was experiencing. As he walks, he finds himself coming upon some pigeons in his path. As he gets closer and closer, they just stand there on the ground. Maybe he begins to think, “Are you going to move?” Maybe he even thinks, “Dumb birds, don’t you know I can squash you.” It’s not until he is just right upon them that they lift off the ground and settle just out of reach on a rock that perches out from the side of a hill. I can hear him saying to himself, “Man, it must be nice to be able to fly away from danger, to so easily escape. If only I could do the same.”
Apply
When fear grips us, we often feel the same as David. We want to get out of the situation…the quicker the better.
But notice where David is? He’s in the city and he stays in the city. He doesn’t flee from the fearful situation; he chooses to stand. In the midst of his storm, he is choosing to stay and draw close to God. David is focused on God as his fixed navigation point and He is determined to live life by the objective reality of God. He’s not going to navigate life based on his fears.
So what do you do when fear, in all of its different shapes and sizes, comes into your life?
It’s normal to want to flee from situations that produce fear and anxiety, so the bigger question for us is…what are we choosing to navigate these life situations by?
What would it take for you to navigate with Christ as your fixed point?
What can you learn from David when you’re faced with these types of situations?
Live
(Personalize this prayer today; make it specific to the circumstances that face you.)
Ask God to lead you through His Spirit as you go through your day. Ask Him to bring to mind the truth of the gospel and its implications for what you will encounter today. Tell Him “Yes” to His will and ask Him for His power and protection to live this “yes.” Ask God to create and reveal opportunities to proclaim the good news today. KEEP PRAYING THROUGHOUT YOUR DAY.