Without a doubt, there is one Psalm of David that believers run to over and again in times of trepidation, uncertainty, and anxiety. It is Psalm 27. In the first verse, the great king of Israel leaves us with these inspired words to ponder and rest our souls upon:
“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”
It is hard to reflect upon these comforting words without also remembering what the Apostle Paul wrote one-thousand years later in Romans 8:33-34 where he asked a similar question:
“Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn?”
In Luke 12:1-7, our Lord Jesus addresses the fear of men and what they can and cannot do. And in this context, He assures His disciples that to be anxious, or fearful, with regard to the enemies of the cross is unnecessary. It is true that those who hate our Lord and His people have some measure of power. Jesus says so here in this episode. They can “kill the body” (v. 4). But even this is no reason to live in fear. Rather, we are to conduct our lives in childlike “fear” and trust in the Lord of life and death.
So, what does it mean when we believers are exhorted to “fear” the Lord? And how is this fear different from the fear that the enemies of the cross should have?