“Though a host should encamp against me, My heart shall not fear: Though war should rise against me, Even then will I be confident.”
-Psalms 27:3
Can you imagine… war. The psalmist David speaks of war rising against him. As a King, if this was surely the case. Then this psalm is his admonition before the LORD.
Admonition.
It is an admonition because he tells himself, as a warning. As if to say,
“flesh… I know what you’re thinking, but this is how it’s gonna go down…. When we see a host encamping against us, or wars rising… we shall not fear, we will be confident!”
Have you ever believed this when you’ve said it to yourself? Was it during a time when it was really needed or it wasn’t? This level of confidence seems to accompany a real life, tangible threat, knocking at the door type of need.
Fear is at the doorway. Do not let it in! …. Can you hear that? It sounds like a rhythmic song if you repeat right… “Fear is at the doorway… Do not let it in” . (Stomp, clap, stomp, clap…. hmmm). 🎶
It would seem that if fear were at the doorway, our flesh (that finds safety in fear) might not like to hear a sound like this. If it were standing over our shoulder, our flesh may not like to see us writing it out either. But either way, either action shows that we are perceptive to the host starting to encamp around us. And this is a good first step. Is the fear trying to get in… into our heart? Maybe to thwart our confidence… tempting us to place this confidence elsewhere?
How We Lie to Ourselves.
Silently. Within the recesses of our own minds. There is also confidence in this, but not the good kind. It’s the ugly kind. The kind that is being held captive and not allowed to be tried and tested. With this ugly confidence, fear emerges, simply because we think it’s not there. But it is there. It will make it’s entrance.
Beautiful Confidence.
It is seen, it is heard. Instead of quiet confidence, let’s sing it so the recesses of our minds and heart can hear it. Quiet can be deceiving. It’s much better to say it out… declare it in whatever way it resounds to us.
What are some tangible ways you declare your beautiful confidence, where it cannot just fester silently?
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