Whom Shall I Fear?
“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? When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident.” Psalm 27:1-3 (NIV)
Yesterday afternoon I had a somewhat frightening experience at my local Costco. I was on my cell with my mother and had pulled into a parking space actually fairly close to the entrance. As I opened the door and started getting out of my vehicle, a man on a bicycle approached me asking me if I could give him a little money. It startled me of course, and I immediately sat back down in the driver seat of my vehicle and locked the door. I put the keys back in the ignition and rolled the window partially down. As I said, he had caught me off guard and it had sounded as if he asked for thirty cents. I thought that was a little unusual, but I had some spare change in my drink cup holder, so I just grabbed two sticky quarters and handed them to him through the window. He then asked me, “Is this all you can spare?” to which I replied a firm, “Yes.” He then pointed to the pavement and asked me a question that for some reason I couldn’t comprehend. I later realized he was asking me if that was my card. I could not see what he was pointing to but I was afraid that it could have been a ploy to get me out of the vehicle. Then who knows what he might do…grab my purse, take my vehicle, or worse!
Surprisingly I was actually very calm throughout this whole situation. I had continued to stay on the phone with my mother. At least if he grabbed me, someone would know immediately! I attempted to start my car. I was going to get out of that parking space and drive away from him! Then, to my amazement, when I took hold of my keys in order to start the engine, the panic button began to go off and he quickly left. My attention then became focused on trying to stop that annoying sound. I looked up to see him already across the parking lot approaching another lady. As I got out of my vehicle, I saw my Costco membership card lying on the pavement beside my car. It must have fallen off my lap as I had started out the first time. Perhaps he was just trying to ask me if that was my card, but I was glad I didn’t take any chances. I went inside and told an employee to call the police and there was another customer making the same request.
Recounting what had just happened I couldn’t help but feel God’s presence with me. First, I didn’t panic. I felt calm; God was with me and He had provided my mom on the other end of the phone. I kept a level head and for some reason I wasn’t afraid. Next, it was a bright, sunny day in the middle of the afternoon. There were people around and I felt secure enough in my vehicle. Finally, I just have to believe that God caused that panic button to go off! Although I must have pressed it, I didn’t mean to touch it! I would love to take credit for keeping a cool head and being able to say that I thought of it myself, but I didn’t. I firmly believe that it was God’s way of protecting me yesterday. When that panic button started going off, it caused the enemy to flee!
As Christians, we can press our panic button at any time. Whom shall we fear? Joel 2:32 tells us that, “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” What is it you’re afraid of today? What kind of circumstances are you dealing with that may be causing you to fear? Is it the economy, a job loss, an illness, a broken relationship? Whatever it might be, why not give it to God? He loves us more than we can imagine and He will take care of us! The Bible tells us, “What’s the price of two or three canaries? Some loose change, right? But God never overlooks a single one. And he pays even greater attention to you, down to the last detail – even numbering the hairs on your head! So don’t be intimidated by all this bully talk. You’re worth more than a million canaries.” Luke 12:7 (The Message)
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