June 9, 2025 Devo

Several years ago I interviewed at a church for a Senior Pastor position. In the interview they asked me if I was easily intimidated. I laughed and said, “No. Why?” They told me that their board was composed of successful professionals, and the former pastor had seemed insecure in dealing with them and was afraid to make decisions. I looked at them and smiled and said, “If I take this job, what’s the worst you can do to me? Fire me?” They all nodded. I said, “Good. That means you're not going to torture my wife or kidnap my kids or anything, right?” They laughed and nodded again. I said, “If the worst you can do is fire me, I can always get another job, and I’m confident God will lead me to where I’m needed. So, no, I’m not intimidated. We’ll work together fine.” And we did.
Fear is a funny thing. It has a way of bringing out the worst in us. It not only has a way of magnifying our dysfunctional qualities, like insecurity and fear of failure, it can also paralyze us from taking action. We fear what people think. We fear what people might say. We fear what might happen if we do, and we fear what might happen if we don’t. Fear in leadership can be disastrous because it can cause us to isolate ourselves from people and be deaf to the opinions that we need to hear. We can become controlling and harsh or paralyzed and indecisive. Either one is a road to disaster.
David reminds us in our passage today that fear, at the core, is a lack of trust in God. David’s not living in denial, his situation was serious and dire. But he knew that if he focused on the opposition, fear would escalate, and he would make decisions based on his fear and not on his faith in God. So David reminded himself of what we all need to know today. No person controls our destiny. God does. No situation is so dire that God can’t work. No problem is so insurmountable that God cannot overcome it. No setback is so devastating that God can’t heal, rebuild, and restore. David’s question in the middle of our passage is the one that I challenge you to claim as your own. “I trust in God, so why should I be afraid?” The answer is, you shouldn’t be. Stop trembling and start trusting. Oh yeah, and don’t let ANYONE intimidate you! That’s God’s Word for you today.