“Yes, wait patiently for the LORD.”
What do resolve, confidence, and patience have in common with living fearless?
When we are fully resolved, our stubbornness kicks in. We will not be easily swayed because our minds will be set, determined, and unshakeable. Our confidence will come from a deep-seated belief that fuels our resolve. With a confident resolve, we will embrace patience as the key to seeing through to the other side of our fears.
The resolve, confidence, and patience trifecta are brought together in the conclusion of Psalm 27, but first,, let’s refresh ourselves on David’s plan for handling fear up to this point.
- Be Proactive: We must be intentional with how we respond when fear comes knocking. (Psalm 27:1-3)
- Hide in Him: One vital component of our plan is how we choose to hide in God and under His covering rather than drown in our entourage of fears. (Psalm 27: 4-6)
- Hear Him: Our living fearless plan also needs to include a heart and mind attuned to hearing God, where we are always listening to God’s voice over the voice of our fears. (Psalm 27: 7-11)
David shared many other components in Psalm 27 that will strengthen our proactive plan to live with less fear.
- Focus on Who God is. (Verse 1)
- Believe that the enemy will ultimately lose. (Verse 2)
- Choose to remain confident. (Verse 3)
- Practice the Presence of God. (Verse 4)
- Run to God (Verse 5)
- Practice praise. (Verse 6)
- Practice a continual conversation with God. (Verse 7)
- Listen to God. (Verse 8)
- Be honest with God. (Verses 9-10)
- Be willing to act when God leads. (Verse 11)
David’s final addition to living with less fear emerged from his confident resolve.
Yet I am confident I will see the Lord’s goodness while I am here in the land of the living. Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord. (Psalm 27: 13-14, NLT)
The outra of Psalm 27 reiterates David’s choice to be confident because God is trustworthy.
Yet, I am confident.
Do we ever stop to consider what happens when we are not confident?
“I would have despaired had I not believed (Psalm 27: 13a, AMP).
“I would have lost heart, unless I had believed (Psalm 27: 13a, NKJV).
The NLT emphasizes David’s resolve to trust by translating the first part of verse 13 as, “Yet, I am confident.” There was no second-guessing, looking back, or stopping to ponder various outcomes. David was steadfast in his confidence, but there was a reason his confidence was solid.
I will see the Lord’s goodness while I am here.
David’s confident resolve was grounded in his unwavering belief that God would come through.
Not in the end. Not after death. Not in someone else’s lifetime.
David believed 100% that he would see the goodness of God while he was still alive.
Yes, wait patiently for the LORD.
The result of David’s confident resolve was a characteristic with which we often struggle. The final component of living fearless in David’s song of confidence is the call to be patient.
Wait for and confidently expect the Lord;
Be strong and let your heart take courage;
Yes, wait for and confidently expect the Lord. (Psalm 27: 14, AMP)
Wait and expect are potent words to lean on when we choose to be patient, but they also embody faith. When we wait and expect, we demonstrate our trust in God’s faithfulness. Our patience strengthens us, and within it, courage will surface.
Our proactive plan to deal with fear is not complete without a dose of patience.
Living with less fear is possible. Living fearless will not happen on its own. We must thaw out from being frozen in fear with an intentional approach that will leave us encouraged and empowered to keep taking the next step.
I pray your belief in God grows exponentially, that an expectation of seeing God’s goodness in your lifetime is your norm, and that you enjoy the presence of God while you wait patiently for Christ’s perfect love to build your faith and lessen your fear. So be it, in Jesus’ name.
Meditate: I will see Your Goodness, God.
Reflect: What happens when you allow fear to take over? How do you see patience playing a role in reducing your fears? What does your proactive plan to live with less fear involve?
Deeper: (As you read through these additional verses, ask the Spirit to give you wisdom, and teach you more about how He will strengthen your ability to live with less fear.) Psalm 27; Ruth 1: 16-17, 4: 14-17; Isaiah 40: 18-31
The four lessons learned from Living Fearless mentioned in the podcast:
- Fearless and faith go hand in hand. If we allow them to, our fears will press us into our faith. As our faith grows, Christ’s Perfect Love goes to work and will press out our fears.
- Fearless doesn’t mean reckless. Living fearless doesn’t mean we abandon praying, seeking wise counsel, and walking mindlessly. Living fearless does mean we are willing to step out and follow wherever God says to go.
- Fearless has a mindset that let’s go. Having a mindset willing to let go, we will think like:
- “I chose to believe God Can!” – instead of – “I can’t.”
- “Yes, I will!” – instead of – “Not Now, because…”
- Our “what if” thinking will turn to “What if God gets involved and He shows up… how does that look?” – instead of – What ifs that are negative and without God in the scenario.
- Fearless has a filter. Fear’s filter is the Truth. We hold every thought captive by running those thoughts through the Truth. Fearless, though, takes it a step further by dwelling on the Truth, praying the Truth, believing the Truth, and therefore acting on the Truth.
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(Bible References: NLT – New Living Translation, AMP – Amplified Version, NKJV – New King James Version)
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