Wednesday, July 18, 2012

David's Kryptonite

I read a portion of scripture that caught me by surprise today: Ps 64:1  « To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. » Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer: preserve my life from fear of the enemy.
Ps 64:2 Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked; from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity:

What surprised me was Davids prayer to be kept from fear. I never thought of David as someone who struggled with fear, after all as a teen, (or juvenile!) he killed both a lion and a bear, and then in his late teens he went toe to toe with the biggest, strongest, soldier in the world. Yet here he is in this psalm voicing concern about secret fears and struggles. "Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked..." Plots hatched in dark places, with his destruction in mind.

I don't see the devil in every misfortune life throws my way, yet the scriptures admonish us about the, "snare of the fowler" (Ps 91) The truth is everyone has weak spots, that our enemies would like to exploit. Even the David's of the bible. Everyone has their kryptonite, that which can pull you down and wreck havoc in your life. Paul spoke of, "fleeing youthful lusts," and the apostle Peter said to avoid such lusts which, "war against the soul."

Fear that paralyzes is no good, but a healthy fear, such as of fire, can save your life. David's fear was a healthy one. May God keep you from your kryptonite, and so keep your fire burning.