He answered me, And rescued me from all my fears.

Psalm 34 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

I will bless the Lord at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
² My soul will make its boast in the Lord;
The humble will hear it and rejoice.
³ Exalt the Lord with me,
And let’s exalt His name together.

⁴ I sought the Lord and He answered me,
And rescued me from all my fears.
⁵ They looked to Him and were radiant,
And their faces will never be ashamed.
⁶ This wretched man cried out, and the Lord heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles.
⁷ The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him,
And rescues them.

⁸ Taste and see that the Lord is good;
How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!
⁹ Fear the Lord, you His saints;
For to those who fear Him there is no lack of anything.
¹⁰ The young lions do without and suffer hunger;
But they who seek the Lord will not lack any good thing.
¹¹ Come, you children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
¹² Who is the person who desires life
And loves length of days, that he may see good?
¹³ Keep your tongue from evil
And your lips from speaking deceit.
¹⁴ Turn from evil and do good;
Seek peace and pursue it.

¹⁵ The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous,
And His ears are toward their cry for help.
¹⁶ The face of the Lord is against evildoers,
To eliminate the memory of them from the earth.
¹⁷ The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears
And rescues them from all their troubles.
¹⁸ The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
And saves those who are crushed in spirit.

¹⁹ The afflictions of the righteous are many,
But the Lord rescues him from them all.
²⁰ He protects all his bones,
Not one of them is broken.
²¹ Evil will bring death to the wicked,
And those who hate the righteous will suffer for their guilt.
²² The Lord redeems the souls of His servants,
And none of those who take refuge in Him will suffer for their guilt.

The psalmist says: I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul will make its boast in the Lord; The humble will hear it and rejoice. Exalt the Lord with me, And let’s exalt His name together. I sought the Lord and He answered me, And rescued me from all my fears.  Like David, it is really our fears that we need to be rescued from. Fear is the opposite of faith. It is believing more in the things that we don’t want than in the things that we do want. It is believing that our problems are bigger and more powerful than God. In Matthew 19:26 Jesus says:  “With God all things are possible.”  We are rescued from fear by faith, by believing that with God all things are possible, by recognizing that He is bigger than are problems. We need to acknowledge that to be fearful and doubtful is sin. Revelation 21:8 the Lord says: But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and sexually immoral persons, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.  Hebrews 12:1-2 says: Let’s rid ourselves of every obstacle and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let’s run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking only at Jesus, the originator and perfecter of the faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  When we rid ourselves of the sin of unbelief, by looking at Jesus, the one in whom our faith rests, is originated and perfected, we will be rescued from fear. Fear will have no power over us. Psalm 23:4 says: Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. Even death is nothing to fear. It has no power over us. It is merely a shadow between this life and eternal life with God.  When we look only at Jesus and see Him on the cross, we also hear Him say: “It is finished!” (John 19:30) We know that He has fully paid for and fully accomplished everything we need. In John 16:33 Jesus says: “These things I have spoken to you so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” 

We then, having overcome our fears through Him, like the psalmist can say:  I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul will make its boast in the Lord; The humble will hear it and rejoice. Exalt the Lord with me, And let’s exalt His name together… Taste and see that the Lord is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him! Fear the Lord, you His saints; For to those who fear Him there is no lack of anything. The young lions do without and suffer hunger; But they who seek the Lord will not lack any good thing. Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Who is the person who desires life And loves length of days, that he may see good? Keep your tongue from evil And your lips from speaking deceit. Turn from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it. The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous, And His ears are toward their cry for help. The face of the Lord is against evildoers, To eliminate the memory of them from the earth. The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears And rescues them from all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted And saves those who are crushed in spirit. The afflictions of the righteous are many, But the Lord rescues him from them all. He protects all his bones, not one of them is broken. Evil will bring death to the wicked, And those who hate the righteous will suffer for their guilt. The Lord redeems the souls of His servants, And none of those who take refuge in Him will suffer for their guilt.  Amen. Thank You heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit. Amen.