Praying Our Fears

Psalm 3:1-8 Genesis 15:1, 8

Don't deny or vent your emotions. Instead, pray about them, present them in the presence of God, and process them there.

David: I will NOT fear.

A. Two Levels Down Into The Fear (v.1-2)

Level 1. Fear
Level 2. Anxiety - abiding feeling of hollowness, fragility, sense of self threatened

Healthy Fear: specific, constructive, to protect, being afraid of doing wrong
Unhealthy Fear: amorphous, generalized, destructive, not knowing what is exactly wrong - a threat to your identity, disables and paralyzes you to make decisions

B. Four Steps Out (v.3-8)

Follow Your Threat
"You are a shield around me." -> a shield with which you are going into the danger, it only works when you go forward, when you follow Christ, when you obey. No matter how bad things are, He's going to shield you. If God let you get hurt today, He's trying to save you from a greater hurt tomorrow. It won't help if you run away, it won't work if you are going backwards.

Over and over again, trying to do the right thing, trying to follow Christ, praying, hoping, obeying and suffering... seems like you are placing yourself into a war, but if you try to go backward, it's not there at all, God's protection is only there if you go forward.

Relocate Your Glory
"You are my glory." - David found what he can build his identity on. You should put your glory in something safe, so that you don't need to fear anything. Your anxiety is like smoke.

"You lift up my head." - If you get His approval, there's no need to fear anything anymore. Don't put your glory in something that will die.

See the Substitute
Genesis 15:1 "I am your shield, you very great reward."
Genesis 15:8 "How can I know?"

Me: How do I know God is proud of me even if I fail?
God: Even if I need to pay the price of your disobedience, I'm still going to bless you.

He values us, He loves us, we are significant to Him.

Remember the People
The opposite of fear is love, perfect love casts out fear. Fear is self-centerness, love is self-giving.

You fear? Go through it. Suck it up. God will heal you through your fears, He will heal of your fears.

Dear God, make Yourself real to me, so that You can become my glory. Amen.