This post is part of a 40-Day Prayer Journey through the season of Lent. Click here to learn more and read other posts in the series.
“I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. This poor man called, and the Lord heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them” (Psalm 34:4-7).
When David first wrote this psalm, he wasn’t a king—he was just a man on the run for his life from the king of Israel, Saul.
David went and sought refuge in a place where King Saul wouldn’t dare look: in the house of King Achish of Gath, ruler of the enemies of God’s people, the Philistines. But when the king’s servants asked their lord if David was the soldier the Israelites sang songs about, praising him for killing Philistines, David was afraid and pretended to be mad in the king’s presence until Achish finally sent him away.
I wonder if it was in those fear-filled moments of feigned madness with the threat of death looming over him that David finally sought the Lord, calling out to him for deliverance.
And what did God do? He heard and answered him, saving him from his troubles. David was reminded of who his God—and ours—is: the one who encamps around those who fear him and delivers them from all their fears. Those who look to him have nothing to be afraid of, nothing to be ashamed of.
Sometimes it takes a lot for us to finally seek the Lord and call out to him for deliverance from our problems, doesn’t it?
So often, God is our last resort instead of our first call. We try solving problems on our own, or we turn to other people for their help, until those problems are too big for us or anyone else to handle.
How much better it is when we come before the King and lay our problems at his feet. How much better it is when we look to the God who promises he is always with us—encamped around us, protecting us from spiritual dangers and sometimes physical ones too.
Why is God with us? Not because we’ve earned or deserved his protection, but because we’re his dearly loved children through faith in his Son Jesus. He hears our prayers and answers them for Jesus’ sake. He delivers us from all our troubles because Jesus has delivered us from sin, death, and the devil.
Dear Christian, Jesus has taken away our guilt, fear, and shame. There’s nothing to be afraid of, nothing to be ashamed of. He has delivered us. He still does, every day, through his means of grace in Word and sacraments: forgiving us, strengthening our faith, and assuring us of his forgiveness and love.
And now? Now, we can do as David later did in this very same psalm: “Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord” (Psalm 34:11).
We can tell others about the goodness of our God—the great things he has done for his people. We can help them see the Savior who has taken away their guilt, fear, and shame.
Today as you pray, ask that God would free all who are afraid and filled with guilt and shame, pointing them to what Jesus did for them in his Word.
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Alex Brown is the marketing and content copywriter at Northwestern Publishing House. He has his Master of Divinity degree from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary and enjoys reading, writing, and spending time in God’s creation.
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