Whom Shall I Fear?

Welcome to Built on God's Word, the preaching and teaching ministry of Highland Park Baptist Church in Bartlesville, Oklahoma.! Pastor Mike Scrivani preaches on Psalm 27. The Lord is the stronghold of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid?

When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble and fall. Though an enemy encamp against me, my heart shall not fear.

Though war arise against me, yet I will be confident. One thing I have asked of the Lord that I will seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.

To gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in His temple. For He will hide me in His shelter in the day of trouble. He will conceal me under the cover of His tent.

He will lift me high upon a rock. And now my head shall be lifted up and my enemies all around me. And I will offer in His tent sacrifices with shouts of joy.

I will sing and make melody to the Lord. Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud. Be gracious to me and answer me. You have said, seek my face.

My heart says to you, your face, Lord, do I seek. Hide not your face from me. Turn not your servant away in anger. O you who have been my help.

Cast me not off. Forsake me not, O God of my salvation. For my father and my mother have forsaken me. But the Lord will take me in. Teach me your way, O Lord.

And lead me on a level path because of my enemies. Give me not up to the will of my adversaries. For false witnesses have risen against me. And they breathe out violence.

I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

Wait for the Lord. Be strong. And let your heart take courage. Wait for the Lord. May God add a blessing to the reading of his word.

Would you please have a seat? Last week, as I mentioned, I was in Orlando for the Southern Baptist Convention.

And after it concluded, I spent the next two days with my family at Disney World. And one of the rides that we went on was called the Tower of Terror.

The exterior, if you've seen it, resembles a massive rundown hotel. While the interior leads you through a lobby filled with antique furniture draped in cobwebs.

From the outside, you could hear the excited screams of the people riding the ride on the inside. And it was clear to my kids that this was nothing like the rides that we have at Kitty Park downtown.

And as you wind your way through the line, you pass through a dim, grimy boiler room before you board the elevator, which is the ride itself.

There are three rows of seats. And once you're securely buckled in, the ride launches you up and down the Tower of Terror.

I'd been on rides like this before. But again, as I mentioned, my kids had not. So I tried to comfort them while we were in line. I told them that everyone who is getting on the ride is getting safely off the ride.

And so will we. Facing fear in the present is easier when you're confident that the future is secure.

That the frightening moment will eventually pass. David is the human author inspired by the Holy Spirit to write Psalm 27.

We don't know for certain what specific trouble David was facing in this moment. Some think David either wrote this psalm while he was fleeing from King Saul, who envied him and who sought to kill him, end his life.

Others think David wrote Psalm 27 as he fled from his son, Absalom, who conspired to take his throne by ending David, his father's life.

Either way, David faced a lot of fearful moments in his life. And unlike a scary roller coaster that lasts a few minutes and ends with everyone getting off safely, the fearful situations David faced were not thrill rides.

These were real people, real enemies with real intentions to end his life. We know how things end for David in Scripture.

All his enemies failed in their attempts to kill him. He lived a long life. He died an old man. And he saw his throne pass on to his son Solomon.

God preserved his life and was faithful to keep his promise to David to establish his throne forever through Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, who in his humanity descended from David.

We know this. But in this moment, David's adversaries and foes assailed him. They were bent on his destruction.

They sought his death. And if you've read about Saul's pursuit of David and Absalom's betrayal and attempt to sieve David's throne, you know they almost succeeded. There were times in David's life when it seemed like the trouble was too great and that maybe hope was lost.

And this is one of those times. David is in trouble. He expresses his trouble in this psalm. But notice that David doesn't begin this psalm stating his troubles, but his trust in God.

David doesn't begin this psalm with trouble, but with theology. Let me ask you a question. What comes to your mind when you hear the word theology?

Maybe you think of big books filled with big terms written by men with big brains and big beards. I think many Christians see theology as something confined to seminaries and to academia, believing it has little practical value for their daily life.

But friend, our text challenges that notion. Theology is very practical for our daily lives and is absolutely necessary to overcome fear in times of trouble.

The word theology comes from two Greek words, theos meaning God and logos meaning word, reason, or study. Simply put, theology is the study of God.

That's what that word means. It is an attempt to understand God as he's revealed himself in the Bible. And God has revealed himself in his word as an eternal, uncreated, triune being.

He is infinitely greater, infinitely higher than we are. And our attempts to study him in this life will fall short because of how infinite our God is.

As Paul says in Romans 11, 33 through 36, O the depths of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments! How inscrutable his ways!

For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor? Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid? For from him and through him and to him are all things.

To him be glory forever. Amen. So while the Bible says that, we also read in the Bible, we hear God telling us that he wants us to know him.

He wants to be known by us. He wants us to study him. He wants us insofar as we are able to understand him as much as is humanly possible.

One of those places where this is stressed to us by God is Jeremiah 9, 23 through 24. Thus says the Lord, The objective of theology is to know and understand God, God has given us his word to know and understand him, to love him who first loved us.

To know that God is our holy creator, that he is our life sustainer, and he is our righteous judge. To understand his character, his perfect love expressed through his perfect son, Jesus Christ, in whom we are saved, secured, and thus have no reason to live our lives in fear.

As 1 John 4, 17 through 19 says, By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is, so also are we in this world.

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us.

The more we know and understand God and his character, the more we love him, the more we trust him, the more we desire to be like him, which pleases him.

It glorifies him. God tells us repeatedly, in his word, that he wants us to know him, and he repeatedly commands us in his word to not be afraid, to not live in fear.

In Psalm 27, we see how David's theology, his study, his knowledge of God, his understanding of God's character gave him confidence as he faced a fearful situation.

And so the main idea for this morning's sermon is that when you study God and trust his character as revealed in his word, you gain confidence to face fearful situations.

When you study God and trust his character as revealed in his word, you gain confidence to face fearful situations. David was in a fearful situation.

And I know many of you today are in a similar situation. God has a word for you. Whatever fearful thing you are facing, you can face it confidently in Christ.

Theology, the study of God, is meant to be personal. It's meant to not just be something that we do with our brain, but something that we believe in our heart, which informs the way that we live and how we face fearful things.

David is unafraid because he trusts what he knows about God. He knows that God keeps what he saves.

And brother, sister, if God has saved you, you are his child whom he loves and he will keep you eternally. Those theological principles have practical application.

As David dwells on the goodness of God as his light, his salvation, his stronghold, he's reminded of God's awesome nature and God's awesome power, which fuels his desire to be in his beautiful presence, which outshines his ugly situation.

Jesus said that in this life, we will face trouble, but we can take heart because Jesus has overcome the world. He has overcome death.

He's overcome Satan. He's overcome our sin. In this psalm, we are going to study God, his character, as he's revealed himself in his word and see why we can be confident in the face of fearful situations.

In this life, we will face troubles. We will face fearful situations. We will suffer under the effects of sin, but in Christ, we can live confidently knowing that at the end of this life, at the end of this ride, we all who are in Jesus Christ will get off safely and will be embraced by the one who has overcome for us.

This psalm reveals two truths about God's character that we should trust and then two positive outcomes that result from how we respond to those truths.

So there's four points to this sermon. The first two concern truths about God's character and the second two points focus on the outcomes that result from trusting in God's character as we face fearful situations.

So first, God secures our salvation. Who is God? He is a God who secures our salvation. Verse one again, David says, 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? David says that God is three things to him here in verse one. Light, salvation, and a stronghold.

These three descriptions, these three truths emphasize God's protection, his ability to keep us and to secure us when our lives seem to be unraveling before us.

When we feel like we are holding on by a thread, these three strands of truth about God form a rope to remind us of our secure hope in God who has anchored us to himself.

David braids these three truths about God's character into a rope that reminds him that he is secure in the Lord though he faces a frightening situation.

The first strand he talks about is light. Light gives a sense of security. As a shepherd and as a soldier, David understood the importance of light to deter predators and enemies who advance under the cloak of darkness.

Light exposes danger hidden in darkness. Look at what David says at the end of verse two. My adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble and fall.

They stumble and fall because they do not walk in the light of God's word. Psalm 119, 105 says, your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

God's word, the Bible, illuminates our past so that we don't stumble into sin, fall into temptation or in this case succumb to fear. And I think there's a difference between being scared and being afraid.

A scare is a temporary rush of feeling. It alerts, warns, and informs you of danger so that you can react.

Think of a mother who sees her young child about to touch a hot stove or pick up something sharp. She feels scared. scared. She's alerted to move into action to snatch her child's hand from danger.

It's okay to feel scared but fear is a state of being. It's a state of being perpetually scared.

It's crippling. It gives in. It loses hope. It succumbs to darkness and despair. The light of God's presence is David's security when he feels scared and it keeps him from succumbing to fear.

In Psalm 1828 David writes, For it is you who light my lamp. The Lord my God lightens my darkness. In Psalm 23, 4 David says of God, Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me.

Your rod and your staff they comfort me. In these verses and in the first verse of Psalm 27, David speaks of how his knowledge of God comforts him in darkness.

God's word to him is like what a night light is to a child who is afraid of going to sleep in the dark. It comforts them. It enables them to rest at night.

And so when you feel afraid, when you feel scared, take action. By walking in the light of God's word, who David reminds us is also our salvation.

The Hebrew word translated as salvation can also mean deliverance or safety. David is in a fearful situation, but he trusts that God will save him and deliver him to safety.

since God is his light, his salvation, he is also the source of David's security, his stronghold, his safe place. And since God is all these things for David, he asks rhetorically, whom shall I fear or of whom shall I be afraid?

God is my light, he is my salvation, he is my deliverer, he is my safe place, my enemies are no match for my God. On Good Friday, April 3rd of this year, an American F-15 strike eagle was shot down over the mountains of southwestern Iran.

Both crew members ejected, one landed close enough to be rescued within hours, the other, a colonel, landed miles away and was badly wounded.

Iran immediately launched a massive manhunt with a cash reward for the person who captured the American soldier. The colonel moved quickly, relying on his training, what he knew, putting as much distance between himself and the wreckage as he could.

He scaled the rugged ridges of the Iranian mountains, found a crevice in a cave, treated his wounds and hid there from his enemy. For the rest of that Friday and all of Saturday, the colonel hid in that cave.

Back in Washington, D.C., the Pentagon, the CIA worked nonstop. They located the downed pilot's position on Saturday morning and then early Sunday morning as the sun rose over Iran, America's massive rescue mission commenced.

Four bombers, 64 fighter jets, 48 refueling tanks, and 13 rescue crafts with SEAL Team 6 were deployed to rescue the pilot.

And as the rescue team descended in the area where they believed the pilot was engaging the enemy, the pilot activated his emergency transponder. And his first message wasn't a distress call.

He didn't say anything about himself or report on his condition. He said, God is good. The pilot acted on his training.

He hid himself in a safe place inside of a rock and he waited for rescue. And when it came, he rejoiced.

Not in himself, not in SEAL Team 6, but in God, his ultimate deliverer, the source of his salvation. No doubt this pilot could relate to the situation that David describes in verses 2 through 3.

When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble and fall. Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear.

Though war arise against me, yet I will be confident. David looked forward in this time to God's deliverance and he trusted that God would provide it.

That his salvation from this fearful moment was a secure thing. And God did deliver him from it and would ultimately commence a much greater rescue mission that would deliver us from much greater enemies that only God could defeat.

2,000 years ago, the eternal word of God became a man and he entered into our trouble to give us his light and his life.

John 1, 4 through 5 says of Jesus, in him was life and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. Jesus said in 1246, I am the light of the world or John 82, I should say.

Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life and then in 1246, Jesus says, I have come into the world as light so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.

On that first Good Friday, Jesus Christ, the sinless Son of God was nailed to a cross by sinful men willingly dying in the place of sinners. As darkness overshadowed the afternoon sun, the light of the world bore our sin and suffered the wrath of God the Father to atone for our sins.

As the sun set, they took down his body from the cross and they placed it into a tomb, a cave. That evening and all day Saturday, his body lay in that dark place.

But on early Sunday morning, as the darkness fled from the rising of the sun, the Son of God came back to life. Conquering death, conquering Satan, conquering our sin.

He is the first fruits of what those in Christ will one day experience. Resurrection. David looked forward to the coming of this Messiah.

Messiah. He trusted that God is a rescuer, a deliverer, a savior, and that gave him security as he faced a fearful situation. And now you and I, we look back to that first coming of Jesus, the Messiah.

We look back and see that in Jesus, as he said from the cross, truly it is finished. Our sin is forgiven, our salvation is secure, and so we press on.

We look forward now, confident, and without fear because nothing can separate us from the love of God. He is our light, our salvation, our stronghold, and those truths remind us that we are eternally tethered, forever anchored to him.

So, who shall I fear? Of whom should you be afraid? Because in Jesus, we always have a living hope.

When you study your Bible, when you trust in his character, though you may not understand why you're going through what you're going through, you can trust that God works all things together for the good.

when Christians experience trouble, it's like God is shining a light on them. People, unbelievers are watching and they're wondering, how is this going to affect their faith?

Others might be tempted to doubt God's power and sovereignty thinking, why would God allow this to happen? Those are hard questions to answer. But keep your focus on this truth.

The greatest good ever done for anyone was achieved by the best person who ever lived and it came through his suffering and dying on the cross.

God achieves good things for us and for others through suffering. When we face earthly fears, it's like the spotlight is on us.

People are watching and God gives us the opportunity to let his light shine through us in ways that display our confident hope, our living hope to a dark world in desperate need of good news.

in Christ. We have already been rescued. Now the second truth here about God's character, God shelters us in times of trouble. He shelters us in times of trouble because God is David's light in darkness, salvation in distress, and a stronghold in battle.

He naturally wants to be where God is. And that's what he says in verses 4 through 6. One thing I asked of the Lord that I will seek after that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple for he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble.

He will conceal me under the cover of his tent. He will lift me high upon a rock and now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy.

I will sing and make melody to the Lord. David finds no place more satisfying, no sight more gratifying, and no information more edifying than when he experiences God's presence in worship.

In the midst of this fearful situation, David asks God for one thing. There's a lot of things that he could have asked the Lord for.

especially in this moment. David could have asked for this one thing, God, kill my enemies. Kill all of those who are trying to kill me.

He could have asked for this one thing, Lord, send me warriors. Send me soldiers so that I can destroy these enemies. He could have prayed for this one thing, Lord, just take me out of this situation.

Just make it stop. Think about it. If you could ask God for one thing that he would give you, what would you ask?

Maybe you'd ask for God to pay off your debts. Maybe you'd ask for God to heal you physically. Maybe you're facing a difficult problem, a dilemma, and you'd ask God for wisdom to know what to do.

Those aren't bad things, but I want to share with you something that God has been teaching me, a lesson I believe that David had learned.

Say God does pay off all your financial debt. You're debt free. Say God does physically heal you. Say he does give you wisdom and a solution for your dilemma.

Again, none of this is bad, and I'm not saying to stop working hard to pay off your debt or stop asking God for healing or for wisdom. Please don't stop doing those things. But hear me out.

One day, all the things that you own will be owned by somebody else. You can be in good health.

You can go your whole life without ever breaking a bone, without ever getting a disease. But eventually, everyone dies, and death will claim all of our earthly treasures.

But there's one thing that death cannot take, and that is your salvation. in fact, death brings us into the eternal presence of God.

And so, no wonder Jesus preached in Matthew 6, 19 through 21, do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.

for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. If you read the Gospels, you hear Jesus consistently teaching about having a heavenly mindset, to not waste our lives worrying about acquiring things and then worrying about keeping earthly treasures, but to seek first his kingdom and his righteousness.

David's in trouble, but he faces his fear confident in the truth that God is his light, his salvation, his stronghold, and since God is all these things for him, he wants to be with God where God is at.

He wants to be in his presence because he knows God will shelter him and give him a peace that surpasses understanding that ultimately God, in being in his presence, means the end of all of his troubles.

I remember one time when I was a little boy, I was in the backyard with my dad and he was on the other side of the yard behind our deck doing some yard work.

I was out of his sight and I was doing what boys do. I was climbing things and jumping off of things. I was climbing our fence.

I slipped, I fell, I landed on my back and I had the wind knocked out of me for the first time. You know how scary that is when you have the wind knocked out of you for the first time and you can't breathe and you feel like you're dying?

I didn't know what was happening to me. I got to my feet and I ran to my father who must have heard me fall because he was running towards me. And he stooped down to me and he wrapped his arms around me and he said comforting things to me until breath filled my lungs again.

Friends, that's what God is like. In our moments of fear, he shelters us. He comforts us with his love.

He reminds us of his presence. And that truth fills our lungs with breath to sing his praises.

Since the Lord secures our salvation, since he shelters us in times of trouble, it should encourage us to respond in at least a couple of ways which David shares in the rest of this psalm.

When you seek God, he takes you in. When you seek God, he takes you in. Verses 7-10. Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud. Be gracious to me and answer me.

You have said, seek my face. My heart says to you, your face, Lord, do I seek. Hide not your face from me. Turn not your servant away in anger. O you who have been my help, cast me not off.

Forsake me not, O God, my salvation for my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord will take me in. And I really appreciate what David does here. He's confident in God's character, but he still calls out to God in prayer.

He is praying God's words back to him. Lord, you've commanded me to do these things. And Lord, I'm going to obey and do what you have commanded.

Therefore, act on my behalf, Lord, for your glory. And I know for me, my best prayer time is when I'm studying my Bible, when I'm reading God's word and I'm just praying it back to him.

Lord, this is what you've said, and I trust what you've said is what you will do. Lord, you've said you'll never leave me or forsake me, and I trust that you won't.

Lord, you've said that you'll give me peace that surpasses understanding, and I trust that you will. Because God is a good father who wants his children to trust him.

He is pleased when we trust him. He is pleased when we show our faith faith in him. And few things exercise our faith and strengthen our faith more than troubling times.

In such moments, when all we have to rely on is our faith in God, God helps us to realize that that's all we truly need. When David talks about his parents forsaking him in the original Hebrew, this could be read, even if my father and mother abandoned me.

We don't read of David's parents in the Bible abandoning him, so I'm inclined to think that this is probably the best way to understand this verse, but the point is the same, that even if the people in your life who shouldn't abandon you do, God will not.

Maybe you've experienced that before, and there is nothing more devastating than being rejected by the people who are supposed to love you the most. And if that's the case for you, verse 10 should comfort you.

God keeps who he's been gracious to save. We are all orphans whom God has adopted as his children in Christ.

And God's love, his grace, his mercy, they never run out for his children. Romans 8, 38-39 says, for I am sure that neither death nor life nor angels nor rulers nor things present nor things to come nor powers nor height nor depth nor anything else in all of creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Christian, you don't ever have to be afraid that God is going to stop loving you. You don't ever have to fear that. you don't ever have to fear that his character as revealed in his word or his promises as given in his word will ever change.

You don't ever have to fear that your love for God will not be reciprocated by him because he loved you first. So seek him and he will take you in.

You are his in Christ and that will never change. And now fourthly, when you submit to God, he gives you peace. Verses 11-14.

Teach me your way O Lord and lead me on a level path because of my enemies. Give me not up to the will of my adversaries for false witnesses have risen against me and they breathe out violence.

I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord and the land of the living. Wait for the Lord. Be strong and let your heart take courage. Wait for the Lord.

David knows that God is his illumination, his light, his salvation, his savior, his deliverer, his place of refuge and security. So he seeks God's presence and here he expresses his understanding that seeking God means submitting to God's instruction.

So he calls on God to teach him as he urges his readers to wait on the Lord. God is the best teacher and he's given us his word and the indwelling of his spirit to reveal who he is and what he's done so that we can walk in the light and life of Jesus Christ in this dark world.

Romans 8 28 is one of my favorite verses in the Bible and we know that for those who love God all things work together for good for those who are called according to his purpose.

In troubling times in fearful situations remember this is key remember that God works all things together for the good of those who love him and in whom he loves there's a purpose in it you may not know what that purpose is and you may be tempted to think that there's no purpose at all but God is a sovereign God and in his sovereignty he works all things together even the bad things even the fearful things for the good so like David instead of complaining remember God's character by studying his word good theology is the best medicine for troubling times ask

God to teach you what he has for you to learn through the fearful situation that you are going through and then wait for him how do we adjust according to what we've heard well the way that David inspired by the Holy Spirit advises us to adjust our lives be strong and wait for the Lord now you might hear that and think well that's a bummer pastor Mike I don't want to wait I want answers I want this thing to be over with or you might be thinking how can I possibly wait with what's going on right now in my life so how do you wait for the Lord this is a waiting that anticipates something good this is a waiting that is certain that what is being waited for or waited on will happen and as

Christians ultimately we are waiting for the Lord to come back and to take us home we are looking forward to his return we are convinced that he who rose from the dead and ascended into heaven is coming back we are anticipating that day when we will see him face to face fearful moments and trying times help us to realize that this world isn't such a great place they help us to long for a place that is better a place where there is no more sin a place where there is no more illness a place where there is no more debt there is no more bills to pay there are no more aches and pains there are no more tears or worries or things that make us scared a place where there is no more death isn't that all what we long for a place without all of these things and the

Bible tells us that Jesus has delivered us from these things and has given us this place the false witnesses against David typify the false witnesses who came against Jesus in his earthly life they lied about him they sought his death and unlike David they achieved their objective yet all of this was God's will Jesus endured the cross he bore our sin he suffered in our place he paid our debt to sin he faced the worst confidently and courageously he entered into our trouble to deliver us from it he's overcome our sin he's overcome the grave he's overcome Satan and there is nothing that can separate us from him if you've believed in him

Jesus' cross an empty tomb remind us that God does indeed work all things together for the good of those who love him my question to you today friend is do you love him do you know him my hope this morning is that you've heard the good news of who Jesus is and what he's done and he calls you today to come to him to be delivered to experience the joy the peace the love of our good and gracious heavenly father the night before his crucifixion Jesus met in the upper room with his disciples who were troubled by the reality of what Jesus was telling them for three years they'd given up everything to follow Jesus he was their friend he was their master he was everything to them and Jesus was telling them guys I'm about to leave you and that troubled them and their fear would eventually cause them in that moment to abandon

Jesus and to scatter from his presence but Jesus knowing this entered that dark moment that troubling time that fearful place confidently knowing he would overcome our greater trouble forever and give us eternal peace with God and everlasting life and so if you ever feel or if you feel now overcome by fear look to the one who has overcome for you trust in his word trust in his character take shelter in him who will never leave you who will never forsake you and who will be with you always and forever I want to end with what Jesus said to his troubled disciples that night before he endured the cross in John 16 32-33 and these are his words to you his disciples today behold the hour is coming indeed it has come when you will be scattered each to his own home and will leave me alone yet I am not alone for the father is with me and here's his word to his disciples today

I have said these things to you that in me you may have peace in the world you will have tribulation but take heart I have overcome the world let's pray Lord we are again grateful for your word this morning and another reminder that you've given us in it to not be afraid and to not live our lives in fear and Lord you've told us why we don't have to live our lives crippled by fear because Lord you've overcome the enemies that we could never defeat and Lord you work all things together for the good and though we may be in a situation we don't want to be in and though we may be facing an obstacle that we would rather not face and though Lord in those moments when we are facing big things hard things fearful things we are tempted to doubt you we are tempted to question your sovereignty but Lord you're so good and gracious to us that in those fearful moments you come alongside of us your spirit reminds us of what you've said in your word and you use those moments to draw us to you to draw us near to you and to remind us this world is not so good and to feel that longing that you've given us that longing for something better this is not the way that it should be and Lord you remind us that it's not always going to be like this and so

Lord I pray for those who are facing difficult things now and who will face difficult things soon or maybe even years down the line that God you would remind us of your word that you would remind us of your character that we would study you that we would use theology practically that we would be brave and courageous not in ourselves but in you who has overcome our sin who has overcome death and who has overcome the devil that we would Lord live as lights in this world and that in those moments when we're tempted to be afraid that we would look to you that we would be confident in you and that people would see the hope that we have in you in the hopes Lord that you would save them too we ask these things and we pray for your help and we trust that you are a God who provides it in Jesus name we pray amen to learn more visit us in person or see the website