May 22 -Reading 50: Psalms 147-150

“He counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name.”

(Psalm 147:4)

We can tell ourselves that we are not afraid of the future. We can recite verse after verse telling us not to fear. We can remind ourselves that, regardless of what the future holds, our eternal destiny is secure. And yet, fear of the future can loom large when we see God allow a difficulty, sadness, or loss in someone else’s life. What if God calls us to suffer similar challenges, trials or tests? And fear can begin.

We tell ourselves that we just want to be ready in case the worst should happen. But what we are really trying to do is be God. We want to see into our future. Ultimately, what we are doing is entertaining the great deceiver, whose fearful whispering are intended not to warn and prepare, but instead to kill, steal, and destroy.

Our enemy wants to kill our dependence and our trust in God. He wants to steal our peace and our joy. He wants to destroy our witness by moving our focus from the God of Peace to the fear of potential circumstances.

How many times have we anticipated grief or braced for the worst, only to have it not happen? How much joy and peace have we forfeited? How productive for him, our enemy, but how counter-productive for us.

As we lift today’s Psalms of praise to our Almighty God, let’s remind ourselves that He counts the stars; He alone calls them all by name. Let’s rejoice that He already knows all our future, every single moment He has planned for each one of us until He welcomes us home. There is no place or need for fear.

In intercession, let’s stand firm in our faith, with our armor in place. Let’s raise our shield of faith, quench that fiery dart of fear and send it back to the pits of hell where it came from. Then let’s boldly march forward and reclaim surrendered territory, remembering it is all about Him, His purposes, His kingdom and His glory