Fear, Get Out of Here
“When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise— in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” Psalm 56: 3
I have a toddler, and therefore, my Spotify playlist and YouTube have become filled with Frozen’s top hits and multiple versions of “Jesus Loves Me” and “The Wheels on the Bus”. Most of the time, I try to tune these songs out while we’re driving around (WHY is “Baby Shark” sooo catchy?!), but my daughter has one particular song that I don’t mind hearing over and over again. It’s called “Fear, Get Out of Here” by Orange Kids Music, and the song has gone from being just another kid’s song in the car to an anthem for my life.
The lyrics say:
“I get scared sometimes, so I cover my eyes, But that’s so silly, because God is always with me. So I stand up tall, remember He is strong. I won’t be afraid, because God is always with me. Fear, get out of here. Get out of here for good.”
I don’t know about you, but it’s so easy for me to become afraid. Whether it’s a class at school, finances, friend groups, sick or hurting loved ones, or those “worst case scenarios” we so easily play over and over again in our minds, fear seems to sneak in and hold onto my heart in the blink of an eye.
What can we do in those situations? We can let fear have its way and keep us paralyzed, sure. But I believe God has a better way for us. I always am drawn back to the Psalms because I feel like they are the most beautiful picture of a person’s willingness to bring all their emotions to God.
David so often “lets God have it,” laying out his complaints, his fears, and his hurts, and at the same time, almost every Psalm has a “but”; “You have rejected Israel and left us in the hands of our enemies BUT I remember your promises to restore; I am angry BUT I remember you are my helper and healer; I am afraid BUT I remember you are with me.”
David had the Word of God in his heart and history with God to fall back on during hard times. We are guaranteed that our lives will be filled with hard things as well (John 16:33), but when our hearts feel overwhelmed and we feel afraid, what truths do we cling to?
Where have you seen God come through for you in your life? Where has he been your Shepherd, your Father, your Friend? What scripture do you know that you can write down and keep close to you when you need the reminder? I once had a friend who was deeply afraid of driving and she kept several verses written on notecards in her car with her. In my own hard seasons, you can usually find my verses written on cards and hanging above the kitchen sink or on the bathroom mirror.
Take a minute during today and quiet your heart. What truth do you need to keep close to you right now? What attributes of God do you need to remember for a while? Write them down. Keep them close by. And in those moments, use God’s word to tell fear the same thing my daughter’s song says: “Get out of here! I’ll see you later.”