Fear and worry. They are the film reel in your head that keeps playing throughout the night projecting scenarios onto your mind. They sit in the pit of your stomach like toxic food that you can’t purge. If you think you have problems, you should spare a thought for the writer of this psalm, probably David, who had to live as a fugitive for a number of years with Saul’s army out to kill him. Yet, even in this situation, David found a place of unshakeable peace. The Apostle Paul speaks of this peace as the “peace of God which transcends all understanding” (Philippians 4:7). He says that, if we take our worries to God in prayer, this peace will “guard our hearts and minds”. To pray about a situation is to give that situation over to God so that it then becomes his concern rather than ours. The peace that we get in exchange comes from the promise of God. His promise is this: that if we walk with God then his purpose for us will not be thwarted. David had been anointed and set apart for a purpose. His peace in the face of the constant death threat from Saul came from his confidence in God’s faithfulness. You too have been anointed by God’s Spirit to fulfil his purpose. Focus on that purpose and take your concerns to God in prayer. As you do this recognise that they are therefore no longer your concerns but his. Then let your soul find rest in the God who bound himself to you in Jesus Christ. Let his faithfulness guard your heart.
Do what Philippians 4:6-7 says.
Read Psalm 62.
