Fearless

Psalm 118:6 ESV

2 Samuel 22:33 NLT

Psalm 91:11 NIV

Proverbs 2:6 NIV

Psalm 56:1-4 ESV

Thoughts on Scripture and Life

When I am afraid, I remember that God is fearless.

Psalm 118:6, “The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?

When I am unsure, I think of the power of our mighty God.

2 Samuel 22:33, “God is my strong fortress, and he makes my way perfect.”

When I feel unprotected, I call on God’s mighty Angels

Psalm 91:11, “For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.”

When I don’t know what to do, I ask God for wisdom

Proverbs 2:6, “For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge & understanding.”

Throughout scripture there are countless promises we have regarding God’s fearless protection and care. In addition to the promise that God is fearless, there are also many promises that tell us the presence of God can make us fearless.

We read in Psalm 56:1-4, “Be gracious to me, O God, for man tramples on me; all day long an attacker oppresses me; my enemies trample on me all day long, for many attack me proudly. When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?”

I remember the first time I seriously was afraid and turned to God for protection.

I was 19 years old. I was offered a job working for the railroad. It was a union position and the pay was very good. I had been in college for two years and I was at a crossroad. I needed to decide what I would major in and I had narrowed it down to five choices.

Then I got stuck.

I really wanted a degree in all five subjects…I still feel the same way today.

Because I couldn’t decide and I was offered a full-time job, I decided to take time off. It turned out I took almost 20 years to make a decision what to major in. More on that later.

The only thing I really knew about working for the railroad is that it was a good job. After spending 3 months in training, I was given a railroad lantern and was assigned to work on the extra board. I didn’t know what that meant, but I soon found out that every day I would be called to work a specific position.

It didn’t take long for me to figure out that 90% of the time I would be walking the tracks at night writing down railroad car numbers. When a train came into the yard, I would put on my heavy boots, tie up my pant legs with rope, grab my railroad lantern, and get a pad and a pencil.

Why did I tie up my pant legs?

The railroad yard was near many of the grain mills just west of downtown Kansas City, Missouri. When the railroad cars came in filled with grain, the corn would often spill out. Then, the rats would come (sometimes by the thousands) to feed on the grain.

I had to tie up my pant legs so the rats would not run up my legs…inside my legs.

To say I was freaked out was an understatement.

To add to my fear, when I was outside at night by myself, especially when it was snowing, I could clear hear the rats moving in my direction in droves.

Freaky!

I had learned in Sunday School growing up that when I am afraid, I can call on God and He would protect me.

That’s when I seriously became a praying person!

I would repeat, “please, God protect me from the rats…please protect me from the rats…please protect me from the rats!”

That was my main prayer.

Then, to add to my fear of rats, I was told to watch out for railroad bums who rode in on empty box cars.

Fabulous.

Are you getting the idea why this job paid well?

Day after day when I went to work in the railroad yard, I prayed.

At first, I wasn’t sure if my prayer, “protect me from the rats and the men in the box cars” was enough to REALLY protect me.

It took time for me to learn to trust that God was really watching out for me. Day after day after day, I gradually started to trust that God really did have His hand ON me.

Night after night I prayed.

You know what happened?

Nothing. I never had ONE rat come anywhere near me. I never encountered one man in a box car. I heard stories of others who did, but I NEVER encountered anything fearful.

I trusted God and I learned that God WAS trustworthy! 100% of the time, God protected me.

God never failed me and that wasn’t just an accident.

Today’s Spiritual Practice is: Pray

If you are afraid of something, pray and give it to our fearless God.

In God, Deborah

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