Original Entry:
February 25, 2009
McMinnville, OR
The Lord is my light and my salvation-whom shall I
fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my
life-of whom shall I be afraid? When
evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes
attack me, they will stumble and fall.
Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out
against me, even then will I be confident.
Psalm 27:1-3
One of my favorite
games growing up was not a conventional sport. My brother and the neighborhood
kids used to play army. We would gather
all of our weapons, consisting of squirt guns, toy guns including the rare
Daniel Boone Musket from Disneyland (they still sell them), or self constructed
guns from wood and nails removed from construction sites..
The rules were
simple. One team of 3 to 4 boys would hide
in a field and the other team would hunt them.
A kill was made by pointing your weapon at he target and saying, “Bang,
you are dead” before he says it to you.
I grew up on the coat tails of the Vietnam War with John Wayne, Audie
Murphy, Robert Conrad, and George C. Scott leading the way in my favorite World
War II movies and TV shows. Although
intrigued by war I grew up with a tremendous fear of it. Will I ever have to go to war? Will I die for
my country? Or worse, would I get maimed or severely wounded?
I never had to find
out as countless numbers have stood in our place.
Maybe that is why Psalm 27:10-13 is so meaningful, “Though an army besiege me, my heart will
not fear (3).” What! How can that be? Remember fear is not just the feeling experienced
when in danger but how the danger is dealt with. Some are frozen by fear. Others run when
afraid. Still. Some brave men will stand and fight when fear shows its ugly
face. Fear is simply a means to the end of being “confident (3)” or being a coward.
When fear surfaces in
a man’s life he can be assured form Psalm
27:1 that “The Lord is my stronghold
of my life.” God surrounds the man
who fears him. He doesn’t need to fear death, injury, or harm’s way.
The man who fears God
above all things will have the confidence to stand, fight, and possibly die
when fear declares war.
