The God Who Delivers from Fear

Psalm 91:14-16

We pick up on a story in Acts 9. Paul hasn’t been converted yet. If we’re not allowed to read ahead in the account, his conversion doesn’t look likely since he is leading the charge in snuffing out this new movement of Christ followers. He is having them beaten and thrown in jail. He’s presiding over their executions, holding coats so his friends can throw rocks without ripping their jackets.

Then the risen Jesus confronts Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus. Jesus doesn’t say, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting these believers?” He doesn’t say, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting your fellow man?” He says, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” (Acts 9:4).

This is not a Jesus who is merely empathizing with victims of oppression. This is Jesus identifying with his people. This is Jesus, if you will, getting out of the car and saying, “Hey! They’re mine. I’m with them.” Jesus is simultaneously revealing himself to Saul and identifying with his persecuted people.

Are you joined to Jesus in this way? Are you part of his people?

Psalm 91 describes God’s people as those who dwell or abide under God’s protection. In light of New Testament truth, we know more fully now that God’s protection is found and experienced only by those who trust in Jesus Christ, the Savior whom God has sent. Jesus came to rescue us from our most fearsome enemies: death, hell, Satan, and the judgment of a holy God. Jesus accomplished this rescue through his perfect life, his sacrificial death as our substitute, and his triumphant resurrection. And now all who believe on him—all who run to him for refuge—are safe forever. This is the Christian gospel.

Apart from faith in Jesus Christ, we are without ultimate shelter. This is why the phrase in Christ has so much meaning in the Bible. When we turn to Christ in faith, we are considered to be “in him”—that is, all that belongs to Jesus is ours. All the favor he enjoys at the hands of the Father is ours. The moment we believe, Christ becomes our shelter, our refuge, our fortress, our salvation.

Think with me about the Christian symbolism of water baptism. Verse 2, if you will, is the confession of every believer at their baptism. They’re saying, in a word, “The God I have trusted has become a refuge for me. I’m in this water to say to the church and to the world, there is one refuge for sinners and his name is Jesus Christ!” This is the gospel, friends.

There’s a sobering and wondrous tension here. The fear of facing a holy God may not make the top of people’s list of fears right now, but there will be a day when it will immediately rise to the top of the list. But this is the wonder of the gospel: the God of holiness and righteousness—the one whom we ought to fear more than anything in this world—that God is the one who has provided us a refuge. He has given us the shield by which we are protected from his just wrath. And in his mercy he says, “My justice will be poured out in full. But hide here. Hide in Christ.”

I love how this psalm goes on to describe God’s people. Their hearts are set on the Lord, and they know his name (v. 14). They call to God, and he answers (v. 15). They are rescued and honored by God (v. 15). They are satisfied by God and shown his salvation (v. 16).

Christian friend, God doesn’t just tolerate you. He is a loving Father. Sadly, the idea of God being a Father can be a problem because our families are flawed. We parents say things that are far from constructive. We lash out, and we tear our children down. However, on our best days, we look for opportunities to bestow honor on our children, don’t we? We’ll say, I know you get mixed signals from me, but please don’t miss this: I’m proud of you. I’m honored to be called your dad.

The idea that we are to honor God is familiar to anyone who reads the Bible. It strikes us as perfectly fitting that we should honor him. He’s the only God, and he’s supremely worthy. What comes as a surprise is that God would honor us. Is that not staggering? Don’t tell me God is hard-nosed in the Old Testament and softens up once Jesus arrives. Here is God bestowing honor on his people.

Before we’re done, we need to look at one more thing. How do we fit the promises of this passage with our experience? In the real world Christians go hungry and face persecution and die prematurely and face all manner of hardships.

The Nature of Deliverance

I was working on this passage on a Wednesday when an email came from a fellow pastor. He told me that a close friend had just discovered their son’s body. He had been thrown off his motorcycle and was found in the lake near their home. In that moment I looked back down at Psalm 91 and read, “For he will give his angels orders concerning you, to protect you in all your ways” (v. 11). Seems like a disconnect, right? How can Psalm 91 be true when that funeral is currently being planned in Mississippi?

This might seem anticlimactic, but it’s the truth, and it needs to be said: the protection God brings doesn’t mean a trouble-free life. This is why the prosperity gospel is so cruel.

I can tell you the name of the man who, as a young believer, was taught that sickness is never God’s will. Healing is always God’s will. His wife was diagnosed with brain cancer early in their marriage, and he believed. He claimed the victory. He did all the stuff. He spoke healing. And his wife died. He was left to conclude that his lack of faith was the reason she died. What else was he to conclude, given what he was taught. “God always wills healing. We just have to activate it by faith.” He was shattered by the tragically mistaken idea that God was trying to heal his wife, but his imperfect faith tied God’s hands, so she died. That is a horrific abuse of what God’s Word says about faith and victory and protection. It’s emotionally and psychologically devastating to be told that if you have enough faith, if you use the right self-talk, your life will be brimming with health and wealth.

When we read the Bible looking for what it says about fear, trials, and faith, it says the same thing on virtually every page. This life is filled with pain. We are greeted by a thousand fears on our left and ten thousand fears on our right, but a day will come when all our fears will be completely and totally conquered by God Almighty. Listen to the way this is described in the “faith chapter”:

For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. . . .

These all died in faith, although they had not received the things that were promised. But they saw them from a distance, greeted them, and confessed that they were foreigners and temporary residents on the earth. Now those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they were thinking about where they came from, they would have had an opportunity to return. But they now desire a better place—a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. (Heb 11:10,13-16)

The Bible has great news for people of faith. Your best life comes later. It comes later, but it lasts forever. That’s great news for people of faith, both then and now.

The tragedy is that we are so fixated on getting heaven here and now that we view eternal joy as a downer. People reason, “So my best life starts when Jesus comes back? Or when I die, and then joy lasts a billion years? That’s stinks! I want it all now!”

Several years ago a friend of mine had dinner at the home of a famous author. His wife came around with a few slices of pie, and the host himself asked his wife to give him the larger slice. My friend thought the author was kidding until he ate the entire piece without batting an eye.

When we think about fear and faith, we can reach for two options. There’s a big piece and a small piece. We can think mainly about this life. That feels like reaching for the big piece—the best piece—but it’s actually the small piece. You’ll get eighty to ninety years here, and you won’t even fully enjoy the small piece. No amount of money, power, technology, or faith-speak can make this world a paradise. Or you can think like the people in Hebrews 11. You can process blessings with the long view in mind. The irony is when we reach toward God in faith, we don’t just get eternal joy then and there; we get help here and now.

My dad died while preaching a sermon on Palm Sunday in 1988. I was twelve years old, on the second pew when it happened. When this passage speaks of the arrow that flies by day and the pain that stalks in darkness, I knew both of those intimately. I felt the turmoil of being pulled in two directions. I felt an inner voice of the enemy saying, “So much for God’s faithfulness.” There was a real temptation to say, “You know what, I’m done with this Christianity thing. This is stupid.” At the same time I felt like, despite myself, something was keeping my faith alive. There were moments when I knew God was near.

The believers in Romans 8 affirmed they were more than conquerors through Christ, and yet at the same time they said, “Because of you we are being put to death all day long” (v. 36). Those phrases lived side by side. How can it be that God’s protection is comprehensive when we see death all around us? Romans 8 answers that question by saying there’s a greater problem in the world than cancer, heart attacks, rejection, and pestilence and sword. We need a God who drowns our guilt and shame. We need a shelter. Psalm 91 and Romans 8 are shouting in unison, “You’ve got one!”

Believer, rest here. This is your security amid the perils of this world. You are loved by God! In taking Christ by faith, you chose the better part. You chose the bigger joy, the one that lasts forever. In getting him, here’s what you got: you got eternal joy a billion years after this life is over, but you also got God himself. He is with you, even in your darkness. You will never be alone.

Sometimes in his mercy God rescues us from suffering. We can pray for grace, for help in all forms. Sometimes, in his mercy, God rescues us in suffering. He keeps us, holds us, keeps faith alive. However, in a little while, God will yet rescue us from all suffering. This is when we experience in fullness what Psalm 91:16 is all about. With long life, for ages on ages, God will satisfy his people.

It makes me think about a conversation God had with Solomon. God asked Solomon what he wanted the most. Solomon reached for something bigger and deeper than earthly blessings. He asked for wisdom. God loved that Solomon asked for wisdom. He gave him the wisdom he asked for and the earthly blessings as well.

Think about your fears. What do you want most? I hope God is going to teach us to say, “I want a shelter. I want final salvation. I want eternal joy.” The beautiful thing is that God says, “Wonderful. I’ll give you eternal joy, and I’ll also come and meet you now. I’ll give you eternal satisfaction, and I’ll be a present help in trouble now.”

The climactic day of absolute triumph is coming: The blessed hope! The return of the King! Our great fear arrives, and he conquers all other fears once and for all. Our fears won’t have the last word. Death won’t have the last word. Jesus is the shelter of the Most High, Jesus has conquered death, and Jesus will never leave us.

Reflect and Discuss