Just Squish the Ant: God and Fear

The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?

Well that’s a big whammy of a rhetorical question. 

No one, oh my soul. No one. 

When I feel those shudders of fear, those buckets of doubt, I must step back and ask myself:

Do I really know who YHWH is?

Do I know who Jehovah is, the self-sustaining uncreated One, to whom all nations are as a drop in the bucket, who set in motion the smashing of the ocean waves against the rocks and inspires the songs of the robin? Is He concerned? Should I be concerned?

It could be compared to being afraid of an ant. Satan tells me, “Be afraid. That little ant can carry ten times its weight.” He’s right. But don’t let him fool you—it’s still an ant! Yes, people or Satan may be able to do something—but in comparison with God, they have no power.

So what do we do when those “ants” feel like dinosaurs? When our issues—relational, financial, academic, political—seem to stare menacingly down on us instead of our feeling the power to do away with them with a simple squish?

What do we often want more than anything during difficulties? Relief? Answers? Let’s see what David says.

“One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek: to behold the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in His temple.” (Ps. 27: 4)

Hold it. Notice that he doesn’t say “deliverance from my enemies.” Nope. Nothing about an easier life. Nothing about simple answers. It’s even better. There’s a secret embedded here.

The only way we can conquer fear (and turn that T-Rex into an ant) is by filling our minds and our thoughts with the beauty of the Lord. As we fill our souls with Jesus, with His beauty, His majesty, His power, His love, His compassion then darkness must flee. He is Light.  There’s no room in the inn for anything else. A famous preacher Thomas Chalmers called it “The Expulsive Power of a New Affection.”

Friends, we can be confident. No more cowering before ants. Let’s focus on who King Jesus is. Yes, I know there are issues in our lives, in our families, in our communities, in our country. I know there are big issues, and many of them are not going away. But let’s keep perspective. “Our light affliction which is but for a moment is working for us a far greater and eternal weight of glory.” (2 Cor. 4:17)