“You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day.” – Psalm 91:5

Over the years, I have been put at gunpoint on two occasions. Normally, having a gun being pointed at you would evoke terrible fear.

Some people would even pee in their pants, you know!

We once had a neighbour who would immediately get a running stomach on hearing gunshots. However, I was not afraid even a bit on both occasions.  Frankly, I had no reason to be afraid.

Our world today is full of things that make almost everyone afraid – day or night. Innocent people are being hit and robbed on the streets in broad-day light.

In the night – indeed as early as 9.00 pm – even the supposedly most-secured compounds are not safe from terrorists, burglars and robbers.

In our meditation today, the psalmist says “you shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day.” Those are things that hit you unawares, without any warning.

Mark you; it doesn’t say that the things that scare people would be non-existent. It says that while the man-made factors that make people afraid might will be there day and night, “thou shalt not be afraid of them” as the KJV puts it.

Neither does being unafraid mean having no fear at all; rather, it’s more about managing it and understanding yourself and the significance of the things that cause people to be afraid.

Whenever you feel like you’re starting to be afraid, question whether it’s rational or based on irrational emotions. More often than not, our fears are grossly exaggerated by our minds.

A lot of people might be afraid, rightly so perhaps, but today, God is giving His children an ‘11^th Commandment’ – “thou shalt not be afraid”!

As believers in Christ and who “dwell in the secret place of the Most-High,” we must strengthen our ability to cope with adversity by focusing on developing resilience.

Indeed, psychologists advise that one of the most effective strategies for dealing with the things you’re afraid of is ‘immersion.’

For instance, if you’re afraid of guns or snakes, you go ahead and frequent places where there is a large number of those things and get in close proximity with them. Gradually, you get accustomed to them.

Sometimes, being afraid is only a natural response to certain situations. So, instead of crying that what you’re afraid of (e.g., thieves, accidents, guns) should be eliminated entirely, just practice accepting it as a normal part of life and learn to live with it (with the necessary precautions of course) without letting it control how you feel.

It’s an offence against heaven to be chronically afraid when we have the Almighty God as our ever-present Protector.

Isaiah 31:4 says; “For thus the Lord has spoken to me: “As a lion roars and a young lion over his prey (when a multitude of shepherds is summoned against him, He will not be afraid of their voice nor be disturbed by their noise), so the Lord of hosts will come down to fight for Mount Zion and for its hill.”

A lot of people might be afraid, rightly so perhaps, but today, God is giving His children an ‘11^th Commandment’ – “Thou shalt not be afraid”!