Psalm 27:1-6
Curing a Low-Grade Fear

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?

When evildoers assail me
    to devour my flesh --
my adversaries and foes --
    they shall stumble and fall.
Though an army encamp against me,
    my heart shall not fear;
though war rise up against me,
    yet I will be confident.

One thing I asked of the LORD,
    that will I seek after:
to live in the house of the LORD
    all the days of my life,
to behold the beauty of the LORD,
    and to inquire in his temple.

For he will hide me in his shelter
    in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
    he will set me high on a rock.

Now my head is lifted up
    above my enemies all around me,
and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy;
    I will sing and make melody to the LORD.

New Revised Standard Version

I didn't realize that I needed this scripture this week, but God did. The first verse of this psalm was on a coffee cup that I happened to see, and it stuck with me. The more I thought about the passage, the more I realized how frequently my mind has been distracted by things that are bothering me a little. I started to pay attention to the thoughts scurrying through my mind as I drove, as I watched television, or as I sat in waiting rooms, and I started noticing how often I'm fretting about projects, deadlines, choices, and even big things like relationships, finances, and career. Now I'm not experiencing the classic symptoms of worry, like an inability to sleep or irritability. I'm not even taking any of these issues seriously enough to focus any effort on them. As an example, I am a little concerned about my job being eliminated in several years, but not enough to even start working on a resume. Isn't it obvious that I'm not worried?

But then again, I am recognizing that my little worries are enough to interfere with how God wants me to live. It came to me that, just like I might have a low-grade fever, I also can experience "low-grade fear." When I have a low-grade fever, I'm likely not to have the energy I normally would, but I'm also very likely to just let it go and assume it will clear up. I just don't want to go through the hassle of seeing a doctor unless I "really" need it, so I tend to hang onto low-grade illnesses much longer than I should.

I am doing the same thing to my low-grade fears. I prefer to ignore them and hope they will simply go away, rather than to admit they are there. I wanted to think they didn't matter, but I also wasn't experiencing the joy I do when I've cleared away things that divert my focus from God. I resist grabbing up these fears and giving them up to God, just like I resist going to the doctor. But there's no hassle in going to God! What was I thinking?

That's an easy answer: I was thinking I could handle this myself. And just like every other time, the problems and issues I try to handle without taking them to God get worse and worse until I come to my senses and let God be God. When my focus is on living in the presence of God and enjoying the beauty of God, the psalmist confidently assures us that God will take care of any problems, either small or large, and in ways that defy my ability to understand them.

Are you experiencing "low-grade fear?" Are those worries consuming those empty minutes in your life, giving you a nagging sense of dread where you expect to find God's joy? Are you assuming that the God who enjoys counting every hair on your head is too busy to care about the little things that bother you? Good news! We have the cure for "low-grade fear," so let's use it!