Psalm 34:4-7 

4 I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me.
 He freed me from all my fears.

5 Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy;
  no shadow of shame will darken their faces.

6 In my desperation I prayed, and the Lord listened;
  he saved me from all my troubles.

7 For the angel of the Lord is a guard;
    he surrounds and defends all who fear him.

Even before WRAL’s Dual Doppler 5000 sees a blip on its radar screen, our dog Maggie alerts us to an impending storm. Her eyes widen as fear consumes her and she begins to pace, drool and pant like she’s run a full marathon. We’ve tried everything we know to soothe her; petting her, lying beside her, whispering assurances, putting a thunder jacket on her, kenneling her, but nothing seems to eliminate the terror inside.

Matthew 14:29-30 

29 “….So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the strongwind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.”

Although I don’t tend to drool or pant when a storm arrives in my life, I have some of the same tendencies of our chocolate lab when fear begins to consume me. I start to obsess about the circumstances, my mind becomes bogged down with “what if’s” and my emotions fluctuate between rage and uncontrollable weeping. Unfortunately, by the time I’ve reached these stages, my will has already decided to cling to fear. Even though my mind may not be cognizant that I am trying to control the wind and waves, I am essentially saying to God: “I don’t fear you…..I don’t trust that you can, or will save me.”

Deuteronomy 13:4

4 Serve only the Lord your God and fear him alone. Obey his commands, listen to his voice, and cling to him.

Sadly, I tried a lot of things over the years to try to sooth myself; taking prescription drugs, over eating or drinking, engaging in sexual sin, blaming others…..before I decided to lift my eyes above the storm and look to the Lord for help.

Thankfully, however, I’ve since discovered that the “F” word CAN be eliminated from my life when I crucify my pride, discover the Truth found in God’s Word and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal where my debilitating fears come from. When I do, He is always faithful to scoop me up out of the water and place me safely in His arms, where I can be still… and know that HE is God.

I wonder if He’d be willing to do the same for Maggie so I can get a little sleep tonight!?

Hebrews 13:6

6 So we can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper,
so I will have no fear.