Advent – Of Whom shall I be Afraid?

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?

Psalm 27:1

Whom shall I fear? Of whom shall I be afraid? That ought to be the resounding response of Christians when we face the countless fears of this world. We live in a time when courage is no small feat, and David here gives us a simple solution – trust in God.

I always think about how ‘truth’ always has a simple message, often with complicated details. The essential message is clear, but there are layers of reasonings beneath it. Take the Gospel for example. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him, shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). The message is simple and clear, Jesus saved us through his propitiating sacrifice, and defeated death in his bodily resurrection. However, that still begs the question, why did we need saving in the first place? Why did God’s forgiveness for us require the sacrifice of his Son? What exactly are we saved from? How do we know if we’re truly saved? So you see, the details are often complex.

As a theologian, I believe that the details are important, and Christians must endeavour to know them. However, I also believe that knowing the details at the cost of losing that simple message, which is the essence of the truth, is not worth it. That is why we often see God use those with a simple faith in Christ more than many who have dived into the deep end of the theological pool. How better still is the one who is well known to the details, while still holding on to the simple message of God’s truth?

The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear? This is a simple message. If God is our light, then what must we fear in the darkest of places? We will always have sight because he is our salvation. The lights never truly go out. Therefore, if we are fearful of the dark, and worried about our salvation, then does that not prove that, for all we claim to know and believe, we do not trust him to be our light and salvation.

The Lord is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid? When the seas roar and the mountains tremble, our courage fails us. But is it not then that we must remember to be still and know that he is God? Our fear of the world is therefore an alarm sounding off, warning us of our failing belief.

The truth is simple beloved. If we trust God, we will not fear the world. Therefore, trust God my friends, for he is trustworthy. Let the Lord be your light and your salvation, the stronghold of your life.