Battling Fear
Sword of the Spirit
David was now afraid of the LORD and asked, "How can I ever bring the Ark of the LORD back into my care?" So David decided not to move the Ark of the LORD into the City of David. He took it instead to the home of Obed-edom of Gath. The Ark of the LORD remained there with the family of Obed-edom for three months, and the LORD blessed him and his entire household. Then King David was told, "The LORD has blessed Obed-edom's home and everything he has because of the Ark of God." So David went there and brought the Ark to the City of David with a great celebration.
David's Battle: Fear
Here's the deal… David was in the process of bringing the Ark of the covenant to Jerusalem when an awful thing happened. The Ark was up on a cart, being pulled by oxen. The people were celebrating as they traveled along. Then, completely unexpectedly, one of the oxen pulling the cart stumbled and the Ark began to tumble from the cart. One of the guys who was helping put out his hand to steady it. This made God angry, and God struck him dead. Naturally, the whole incident scared David half to death… so much so that he was too afraid to bring the Ark to Jerusalem at all. Have you ever let fear do that to you – stop you in your tracks? David took it to another location, to the home of a man names Obed-edom, and waited for months as he dealt with his fear. He found out that God was blessing Obed-edom, and decided that perhaps it would be OK to go ahead and bring the Ark into Jerusalem after all. Conquering his fear, he brought the Ark home with great joy and celebration.
Strategic Questions:
Why do you suppose God struck the man dead who touched the Ark?
Have you ever had your celebration turn to fear in an instant?
How do you conquer fear?
Putting On Your Armor:
Fear can be like a prison that locks us away from where we need to be with God. Like David, we often let our fear keep us from doing the very thing that we're supposed to be doing. David was supposed to be bringing the Ark into Jerusalem. That was his plan. That was God's plan. He let his fear completely stop him in his tracks. But that's just what happens to us too, right? We're going along just fine – convinced that we're headed in the direction God is leading us. Then something unexpected – sometimes even bizarre – happens, and we come to a grinding halt. We get so sidetracked by our fear that we seem to freeze in place. We can't go forward. We can't go backward. Just like David, we sit frozen for a time until our fear finally thaws out and we realize that we must come to life again. We can learn to fight like a King when it comes to fear. Like David, we can and will overcome it. It will not overcome us!
S.O.S. (Speaking to Our Savior in prayer)
Dear Father,
Sometimes I'm so afraid! I feel locked up in the prison of fear. I just can't seem to find my way out. Help me, Lord! Show me how to release the fear and to trust you. I do trust you, Father! Help me to jump back in the race again, to trust you to release me from this prison of fear, and to overcome like David did. I thank you Lord for shining your light on this area of my life. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
Which Side Are You On? (Thought for the Day)
What are you afraid of?
