BROADCASTS.com

My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught... But as for me, I trust in you (Psalm 55:2, 20).

Fear! Have you known fear? Most of us have. A bully. A failing grade. A request to see the boss. A visit to the doctor. A rejection letter.

Fear can be intense, overwhelming. It can simmer inside us for a long time. Sometimes it's rational, sometimes not. When we're afraid, our imagination goes into overdrive.

More than any other emotion we experience, fear is linked to our brain and our nervous system. Often, we react to it involuntarily, our whole bodies get involved: knees shake, bowels loosen, we lose our ability to make rational decisions, sleep flees.

Almost every Hebrew word for fear occurs in the first five verses of this psalm. It begins with fear\u2019s troubling thoughts: an obsession with the "what ifs"; a dwelling on the possibilities of what might happen. With such thoughts often comes an oppressive restlessness.

Neurobiologists have identified a "fight or flight" reaction in our brains that prepares us to run or defend ourselves. Both are found in this Psalm. In verses 6-8 the psalmist wishes he was a dove so he could escape his circumstances. When we're afraid, we want to get away more than anything else.

But in verse 15 he wants to fight. He calls down a curse of death on his enemies. There is a desire for sweet revenge in this verse. Such prayers are troubling because they are hateful and appear unchristian. Fear makes us capable of doing things totally out of character.

Isolating such verses will distort our spirituality. But they can be deeply precious to us if kept within the context of this psalm. The entire lament is David wrestling with God about the pressures he is experiencing. As his fear gushes out of him like vomit, it splatters before God's throne. God seems just fine with this. We have permission to do the same.

As David vents his frustration in God\u2019s presence, his fear gives way to faith and trust. His fear of people changes to fear of God. These are two very different kinds of fear. Fear of God is not 'being afraid,' it is faith and trust generated from the reverent awe of worship.

When we worship God, we cast our cares upon him because we discover that he will lift us up in due time. God's circle of concern is identical to his circle of influence; he has the power to intervene in all circumstances.

Faith leads to worship which leads to peace. Having faith in times of fear may sound clich\xe9, but it's the only true way forward. When we believe God has the power to do anything, the character to do the right thing, and the love to care for us, we will find peace.

Fear is a natural, physiological response God hard wired into our brains to protect us. Despite our physical reaction to scary situations, we have a choice of how to handle our fear. We can allow our fear to paralyse us. Or we can ask God for help, surrender what we cannot control to him, and decide to move forward in faith.