What Is There To Fear?

The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid? - Psalm 27:1

My dog Buddy is a consistent source of insight and amusement in my life. For you animal lovers, you know what I am talking about. God's creatures are simply unique and amazing in wonderful ways. My dog is all of those things to me and I am amazed at how the Lord teaches me certain messages through Buddy. For example, my husband and I had taken Buddy out to some property where deer and coyote roam freely. Buddy was quick to take off, running through weeds so high that all I could see is the white tip of his tail. He crawled through a barbed-wire fence, jumped over a creek, and dragged himself through thickets and brush that left him covered with briars. He was in heaven, loving every minute of his excursion, and without a care of any danger seemed to enter his mind. Later that evening when we got home, I heard Buddy whimpering outside near the back door. I thought he was hurt or that something was wrong with him. What was wrong? There was a twig lying on the concrete and he was afraid to step over it.

One minute my dog was walking through the jungle with no fear; the next, he was whimpering over a twig. Why? Because his fear was based on something unknown and unfamiliar to him, though we know that a twig is far more harmless than plowing through rattlesnake weeds out in the country. How often do we allow fear of something harmless to stop us in our tracks and keep us from going forward? How often does the Lord look at us and think we look ridiculous (as I did of Buddy)? We so often let the fear of the unknown keep us from having all that God has for us.

Do you have fears in your life that stop you in your tracks? Are you consistently afraid of the unknown? Sometimes we are far more comfortable in dangerous places just because we are familiar with them. Let's be willing to be uncomfortable sometimes and let the Lord truly lead us. The Lord tells us to trust Him and to step out in faith. The Lord promises to protect us, regardless of where we go with Him. Just as I was watching Buddy closely, just in case that twig jumped up at him—the Lord is always watching out for us too.

~Daily Disciples Devotional~