Psalm 34:4-7 - April 9, 2009

Ps 34:4-7 "I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. 5 Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. 6 This poor man called, and the LORD heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles. 7 The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them." NIV

Freedom from fear; it is such a powerful position of the heart. So much of the root of fear is in its essence a heart that is not trusting God in that circumstance. Fear of lack, fear of rejection, fear of failure, fear of persecution, the list goes on and on and on. And yet there is a biblical promise that argues against each of these fears and declares to us that our God is greater than the thing that we fear. Phil 4:19 “my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus,” KJV. Eph 1:6 “he hath made us accepted in the beloved,” KJV. Phil 4:13 “I can do everything through him who gives me strength,” NIV. Heb 13:5-6 “because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." 6 So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?" NIV.
For every need there is provision for every fear there is a promise to provide comfort, hope and wisdom. Ps. 34 is a picture of David pressing in to this reality, “I sought the Lord… and he delivered me!” David knew where his source was and it was the presence of the living God. Too often we are distracted from our focus by the giants we face. Not so with David, he brought the Lord into the battle with him! Even as he ran to confront Goliath his testimony was of the great victory that God was about to win through his hands. David operated in a prophetic spirit declaring what he was about to do and what God was about to do. He paid no attention to what the giant was about to do from the standpoint of losing his focus on the God who was going into battle with him; I Sa. 17:45-50. He announced his enemy’s defeat as if it were already finished, and in the mind of God it was!
As David celebrates the victory of God he draws our attention to the one who has captured HIS attention. “Those who look to him are radiant;” such a powerful testimony of what God does in the heart of those who fix their minds on Him. In his hour of need David has chosen to press into his walk with God instead of becoming fixated on his circumstances. As a result David exchanges his fears for God’s radiance. What a day it will be when we never have to worry about our business again. What a moment when the burden of our daily fears is finally surrendered in a trusting relationship with the Living God. Such a place of freedom and peace is the reason that David can say that the fruit of those who look to the Lord for answers instead of to themselves are radiant.
Verse seven of this passage enlarges our view of David’s understanding. If we were to stop at verse six we might assume that the intervention that David is referencing is purely or primarily emotional or internal and yet David now turns his attention to the supernatural hand of God in his hour of need. Not only does David acknowledge an angelic deliverance, David goes on to convey that for all of those who fear the Lord God provides an abiding angelic presence to protect and provide. How much better it is for us if we begin to place every fear upon the Lord and reach into his everlasting love for strength and peace in the hour of need, knowing that his promises are sure and his presence is abiding! Today reach into God for a deeper revelation of a life that is free from fear.