Contemplative Bible Reading

Psalms 118:6 (New International Version)

The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?

I find three large sermons in this one little verse. What to discuss in a short blog post? All three.

The foundation is the first phrase: the Lord is with me. Yes, He is with me, all the time, in every place, in every situation, in every emotion, in every…well in everything I can conceive and also in everything that my mind cannot conceive.

Because the Lord is with me, I will not be afraid. Now the situation changes. The Lord is with me; that is His promise; that is in His power, and that is absolute. No one can do anything to change that. This second phrase is my doing. Will I ever be afraid? Yes, probably.

Should I ever be afraid? I don’t know the answer to that one. Someone pulls in front of me in traffic, I slam on the brakes, I don’t know if my vehicle will stop in time, and I am afraid of hurting someone. That is fear, but is that in violation of what is written here? I don’t know.

Should I live in long-term fear and dread? I think not. The Lord is with me, and I should take confidence and courage in that promise.

The situation changes again with the third phrase, what can man do to me? Well, man can to a lot of things to me, and I would rather avoid many of those things. Do I, however, understand the scope of what man can do to me in relation to eternity? In relation to what God potentially and actually does for me? In that perspective, man cannot do anything of any real consequence to me. My problem is that my mind tends to consider the short-term, the tiny, the inconsequential as long, big, and important.

God, help me to know that you are always with me. Help me to squelch my little fears. Help me to consider the eternal. Help me to understand that what we do here in this life may seem important at the time, but of little consequence.