What Are You Afraid Of?

Reference: Psalms 49:5 Why should I fear when trouble comes? 

Observation: This is an exceedingly good question for us to ask of ourselves. Why do we fear when hard times come? So often it is a reflection not of the danger of the situation we are in, but the state of our hearts. We fear because our value is wrapped up in our success and it is vulnerable at that moment. We fear because our sense of security is vesting in something of this earth that we might be losing. Yet, most of all, we fear when trouble comes because we don’t believe that God will really take care of us. As a result, we have the anxiety of feeling like we must take care of ourselves and we are not built for that kind of stress.
The rest of this chapter makes a simple point; everyone is going to die, including us, God has defeated death and if you don’t need to fear death, then there is nothing left to afraid of. If we know that eternity is absolutely taken care of then the rest is gravy. 

Application/Confession: I am tempted to fear when trouble comes because I am afraid it will make me look like a failure, a loser. I, too often, find myself too concerned about how others will view me instead of realizing that it is only how God sees me that matters.
The really good news is that He loves me no matter if I succeed or fail. 

PRAYER: Lord, I know that trouble is inevitable. Give me the grace to trust You in it and to look to You for my salvation, provision and value.