Nothing to Fear, But the Lord

Psalm 118:5-9
5 Out of my distress I called on the Lord;
the Lord answered me and set me free.
6 The Lord is on my side; I will not fear.
What can man do to me?
7 The Lord is on my side as my helper;
I shall look in triumph on those who hate me.

8 It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in man.
9 It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in princes.

This passage starts with a very profound statement, "out of my distress I called out to the Lord, He answered me and set me free." What this says to me is that worry, like sin, has the ability to put us into bondage (slavery).

We all either have or still tend to worry (fear). Be it over finances, children, relationships or whatever. Some of us take control of the situation to get rid of the worry - while others of us just hold onto that worry, almost taking comfort that we have something to worry about.

Both of these actions are addressed in this passage. To the worrier - "The Lord is on my side; I will not fear..." Plain and simple, if you have put your trust in Christ and now belong to Him who is all-powerful, what is there to fear? Nothing!
And to the take-charge person who conquers their worries: who did you trust to take care of the situation? Did you put your trust in yourself or others (man) or in the Lord?

This brings us to the title of today's devotion, because it may seem a little confusing. Part of fearing the Lord is trusting Him. Fearing the Lord is not being afraid of Him. It's realizing His awesomeness, His power, His love - if we are not putting our trust in Him in all situations, we are not fearing Him. But if we do put our trust in Him we have nothing to fear.