Daily Devotional

A while ago while I was reading a magazine on an airline, I noticed an add that said: “How to Overcome Your Fear of Public Speaking, Flying and Other Phobia in Minutes.” The article went on to boast that we can now cure all our anxiety in five minutes or less with a powerful new treatment. Oh, don't we wish it were that easy—to just take some pill and BAM…all our fears are gone in a flash! Yes, we may find some new drug that will dull our feelings, but it will not remove the core problem. We live in a fear-producing world and always will.

Obviously, we never get rid of fear by wishing we were not afraid. God has a more effective prescription. In fact, as obvious as it is to many of us, there are too many who treat it like some bizarre, top secret formula. It reminds me of Psalm 25:14, “The secret of the Lord is for those who fear Him...”  

Let me come right out with the not-so-secret prescription: Learning how to handle our daily fears lies in our commitment to learn how to daily fear (i.e. reverence and worship) the Lord. A few years ago, I suggested the following resolution: I resolve to not let one day pass where I do not wake up and bless the Lord with my whole being and rehearse all of His benefits.

As surprising as that may seem, that is just what Doctor Jesus ordered. In the midst of the many causes for fear the world offers, our Great Physician offers a medicine for us all: a day filled with praise and worship. It will bring healing to our hearts. Be blessed today by the peace-producing, anxiety-reducing words of Proverbs 14:26-27, “In the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence, and His children will have refuge. The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, that one may avoid the snares of death.”

New American Standard Bible (NASB)
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