Let me tell you about a time I was absolutely terrified — one of my biggest fears, a moment I’ll never forget.

I was in college, probably 19 or 20, and it was my day to give my speech in public speaking class. That might surprise you because I’m up here talking to you right now, but at that time I was terrified. I hated public speaking. I think it was in that class that we were told people are more afraid of public speaking than they are of death. And I felt it.

I got up there and decided to try to distract everyone — and myself — so we wouldn’t focus on how nervous I was. I kicked off my speech with an opening illustration standing on top of the table at the front of the room. I won’t reproduce that right now. But I was so afraid. I remember getting off the table and continuing the speech, literally shaking, my knees knocking together — I always thought that was just an expression, but I was feeling every bit of it. I was terrified. I’d never been so afraid in my life.

I don’t know about you, but we all deal with fear. Sometimes it’s small fears — you’re talking to someone and afraid of saying the wrong thing. But sometimes we deal with big fears. Big fears we don’t even put into words. We don’t tell anyone about them. They just sit in the back of our mind, deep down in our heart. Am I going to be okay? Is my family going to be okay? Are we going to make it? And when we deal with those fears, sometimes we don’t know what to do.

Today we’re going to be in Psalm 34. If you have your Bibles, turn there. It’s a great psalm where we see what David does with fear. King David — a man after God’s own heart and a great example for us — addresses the issue of fear and what to do with it.

One of the things I love about reading the Psalms is that many of them have a little line at the very beginning telling you who wrote it and sometimes giving you context for when or why it was written. Here we get a bit of detail about David’s life that he’s reflecting on in this psalm: “Of David, when he changed his behavior before Abimelech, so that he drove him out and he went away.”

I want to tell you what was going on in David’s life at this moment because it’s going to help you understand what he’s talking about in the psalm.

David at this time was destined to be king of Israel. He knew that. And yet he wasn’t king yet. The king of Israel was Saul. And in this moment, Saul wanted David dead. So David is on the run, hiding for his life. Saul is after him. So he flees to the city of Gath — which is in the land of the Philistines, the enemies of Israel. David has left his hometown, where you might have thought he’d be safe except for the fact that the king wants him killed, and gone looking for safety in enemy territory.

But not just enemy territory — the city of Gath. Do you remember who was from Gath? A guy David had encountered earlier named Goliath. Think about that. David killed Goliath in one of the great moments of heroism and faith in all of scripture. And now he’s in Goliath’s hometown. If you showed up in the hometown of the enemy you killed, people would not be happy to see you. David’s trying to hide — and then the worst thing possible happens. He’s recognized. They know who he is. They remember what he did. And so David, who was already fleeing for his life, now finds himself in another place where he’s afraid for his life all over again.

What does he do? David comes up with a plan. The Bible doesn’t tell us if it was a good plan or a wise plan — but it worked. David decided to pretend to be crazy. Out of his mind. Insane. So they’d look at him and say, “This guy’s just lost it,” and send him on his way. And that’s exactly what happened. It worked. But he acted crazy.

Have you ever been so afraid that you did something crazy? Ever been so afraid that you made a really rash decision? You did something you regretted later, but you acted out of fear?

Later on, David comes to this moment and writes this psalm — reflecting on this time when he was terrified. And in it, we’re going to see how David responded to fear. Not just in the moment when he acted crazy, but what was going on in his mind and heart. He gives us an example we can follow.

Father, we thank you. Thank you for the real-life example of David — for his honesty, for his heart for you, for all these conflicting feelings he dealt with and recorded for us. Lord, would we live up to that example? Would we be people who love you and serve you with our whole heart, who are real with you — bringing our worries, our fears, our problems? Even now, as we walk through this passage, would your Holy Spirit work in each one of us and bring to the surface what you want to speak to? We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Psalm 34 begins this way. David says: “I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.”

When you read the first couple of verses, it sounds at first like this has nothing to do with fear — like it’s just a psalm of praise and worship. And it is. But David is addressing the topic of fear, and we’re going to see that as we continue. I want to point out a few words right at the beginning: I will bless the Lord at all times. What does that mean? Even when you’re afraid. Even when the circumstances of life are crushing in around you. We’re going to worship him. We’re going to honor him no matter what’s going on in our lives.

Look at verse four — I think this is the key to the whole thing. “I sought the Lord and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.” David is writing this reflecting on a time when he was running for his life, afraid for his very life. He had a lot to be afraid about. But he’s going to address a number of different fears — all connected to his story but also things I think we all find ourselves afraid of.

The first point: fear is normal. We all deal with fear. We all go through circumstances in life that present us with the opportunity to be afraid. It’s natural. It happens. But we don’t have to stay there. We don’t have to remain in the place of fear. God gives us a solution. And David shows us in this passage some of the different fears he was facing.

First, there’s a fear of trouble. David was afraid, and he had troubles. Verse six: “This poor man cried and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles.” David was facing trouble. He had nothing — but he had plenty of trouble.

Have you ever found yourself overwhelmed, in over your head, not knowing what to do? You feel stuck. You feel like everything is lost and all you have is trouble. Maybe all you can see are your problems. Maybe your problems are at work — difficult people, trouble keeping up, fear of losing your job, fear of things not going well. Maybe work is affecting your family. Maybe your troubles are with your schedule and you don’t know how to do everything and you’re afraid of disappointing someone. Are there any people pleasers in the room? That causes a lot of fear.

Maybe your fear is related to home. Trouble with your spouse or children. Fear of those relationships being broken or damaged, getting to a place where it feels beyond repair. What are the fears and troubles you’re facing? David’s best friend was a guy named Jonathan. Jonathan’s dad was King Saul. If your best friend’s dad is trying to kill you, you got trouble. David had trouble — problems, fear — and he called himself a poor man.

Maybe the trouble you have is a fear of not having enough. Financial fear. Look at verse nine: “Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack.” We’ll come back to that solution in a moment, but don’t miss what he’s addressing — this fear of lacking something, of not having enough, of not being able to make it.

Maybe it’s a fear of never getting out of debt. That’s a fear I’ve experienced — still have sometimes. Am I ever going to get out of this? Maybe it’s the fear of never owning your own home or being able to save for a down payment. Maybe it’s a fear of not having enough for retirement, or not being able to afford basic needs — food, clothing, shelter. Maybe it’s the fear that if you lost your job, you’d lose everything. Maybe you’re stretched so thin that questions keep coming: how will I survive? How will I provide? Are we going to make it? Am I going to be okay? Is my family going to be okay? Can I give them what they need — more than that, a good life? Maybe you’re a young father asking: am I going to be a good father?

All these fears can creep in and settle in your heart. The Bible addresses these things to build our faith. Hebrews 13:5–6: “Keep your life free from the love of money and be content with what you have. For he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we can confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?’” What great assurance when we recognize that God is with us, that God is for us. He’s our helper. I don’t have to put all my hope and confidence in finances and money because the Lord is with me. He’s the one I need to trust.

And then there’s the fear of danger. Verse seven: “The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him and delivers them.” When do you need deliverance? When do you need the angel of the Lord to encamp around you? When you’re totally exposed. When you’ve got nothing — except people trying to kill you, enemies on every side.

Our world is filled with real danger. What dangers are you afraid of? Maybe you know someone whose home was broken into, and now they can’t sleep at night — afraid it’s going to happen again, afraid of what could happen next time. That fear causes paralysis. Maybe it’s a fear of war, or a loved one serving in the military somewhere in conflict, and every day you’re praying for them but afraid of what could happen. Maybe you’re afraid of crime in your neighborhood, or your kids being out late and not responding to your texts, or someone in your life who is an actual threat — a dangerous friend or family member.

These are real dangers. What keeps you up at night? If David had stayed in Israel, he’d have faced King Saul with his full army. He fled to enemy territory where he wasn’t safe either. He knew fear. He experienced it. And yet how does he begin the psalm? I will bless the Lord at all times. Even in the place of fear. Even in danger. Even in lacking. Even with nothing but trouble. His praise shall continually be in his mouth. He’s going to worship and bless the Lord even there.

How is he able to do that? Because he trusted in the Lord and he knew what to do with those fears. Which leads to the second point: fear leads to prayer.

When we’re afraid, we simply need to bring those fears to the Lord. The God who cares for us, the God who loves us — we bring those fears to him and he’s going to be the one who deals with them.

Sometimes when we’re afraid, it happens naturally and we go straight to prayer. But sometimes we forget. Sometimes those fears have been growing and looming in the back of your mind and you haven’t dealt with them. You don’t know what to do with them. This is your invitation to bring them to the Lord.

Other times fear comes fast and our first instinct is to pray. I remember one time I was on a mission trip with students headed to the Dominican Republic. We were in a plane somewhere over the ocean, and there were kids who’d never flown before. We were going along and the turbulence picked up — a little rougher than usual. You’re trying to reassure everyone, but in the back of your mind thinking this is a little bit much. And then the plane just dropped. It felt like 500 feet — might have been five, I don’t know, but I felt every inch of it. People literally screaming in the back. And somewhere in the plane someone was crying out to Santa Maria, and I’m thinking, I don’t think Mary is going to help you right now. I was praying to the Lord, the God of heaven, the one who can calm the storm and calm the sea. You better believe I was praying in that moment.

Fear drives us to prayer. When we experience hardship and difficulty, uncertainty and fear creep in. It should drive us to prayer. When we bring those things to the Lord, we bring them to the one who can actually do something. Jesus Christ. He’s the one who will hear and respond and act.

Look again at verse four: “I sought the Lord and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.” This is the model. This is what we need to do. We seek the Lord. We seek him and he will hear and answer. That’s why we trust him. That’s what God is calling us to. He will deliver us from our fears. Seek him. Go after him. Be intentional. This isn’t something that happens in the background passively — you need to actively go after the Lord and spend time with him.

As we’re going through this series in the Psalms, I’m doing the reading plan with some friends and yesterday we were in Psalm 56. And I got to verse three and you know what it said? “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.” Another psalm of David. And I thought: there in one sentence is the whole message wrapped up. When I’m afraid, I put my trust in you. That’s David’s solution. That’s the answer.

Look at the actions David takes in this psalm. He sought the Lord. Verse ten: “Those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.” You want to know the solution to this feeling of lacking, of not having enough? Seek the Lord. Search for him. Look for him.

Verse five: “Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed.” Look to him. What often happens when we’re facing trouble and fear? We look down. Our heads hang low. We’re consumed by our circumstances and we can’t see anything else. God’s invitation is to look up — to look to the one who has the solutions, who loves you, who cares for you, who can actually do something about it.

Verse six: “This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles.” David cried out. Don’t give up when you’re in despair. Don’t stop when you feel down. Cry out to the Lord. That’s your emotions, your heart, everything in you — begging, pleading: God, would you do something? Would you deliver me? Would you rescue me? Would you bring me out of this? Would you calm these fears? Cry out to him. Seek him. Look to him.

Verse 17: “When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.” And verse eight: “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!” When you cry out, when you look to him, when you seek him — you’re going to taste and see that he is good. You’re going to find him in a way that brings satisfaction, hope, and encouragement. He’s your refuge. He’s your fortress. He’s your place of safety.

Verse 22: “The Lord redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.” There’s great hope that if you go after the Lord and bring these things to him, you’re going to find hope and healing and life. God is going to welcome you in and deal with your fears.

So what does that look like? Take all your fears and bring them before the Lord. Say: God, here I am. Here’s what I’m feeling. Here’s what I’m afraid of. Would you take my fears and build my faith? That’s exactly what God will do. He’ll take those fears and build your trust in him. So you can walk with confidence because you have the Lord, his presence with you.

Isaiah 41:10: “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Joshua 1:9: “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Over and over again, when God addresses fear, he reminds us of his presence — that he is with us. There’s no reason to be afraid when you are with the Lord.

Mark 4:40 — Jesus addressing fear: “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” God wants to build your faith. When you experience fear, it’s an opportunity to grow closer to him. Give him your fear. Allow God to minister to your heart and build you up.

And look at how God responds to the person who seeks him, who cries out to him — he will answer. He will deliver. Lacking no good thing. Never ashamed. Saved. Blessed. Redeemed. All those responses are listed out in Psalm 34. This is what God did for David. This is what God can do for you.

Fear is normal. But fear should lead us to prayer.

I remember another moment in my life not too long ago when I was afraid — this time not about something trivial like a speech in class.

It was 2022 and my dad was really sick. We didn’t know if he would make it. We were afraid. I didn’t know if I’d get another Father’s Day to celebrate with him. We were close to the end.

We got a call from the hospital telling us to come to San Francisco. We loaded up the car and said: we need to pray. So we called Pastor Rick Thompson, our pastor of care, and he said, “Why don’t you stop by the church on the way? It’s right off the road. Pull in the parking lot — you don’t even have to get out of the car — and I’ll pray for you.” So we drove down the road and pulled in. I remember my mom just saying, “Oh wow.” Because it wasn’t just Pastor Rick. It was everybody — they had come around our car, and they prayed for my dad.

We sought the Lord and he heard and he answered. Because of that, I get to celebrate Father’s Day today with my dad because God healed him.

Verse 18: “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” When you’re afraid, when you’re going through hard things, it’s often heartbreaking. You feel crushed in spirit. You can’t see anything except your problem. And it says: in that place, God is near. He’s with you. He’s right there. He wants you to come to him because you’re going to experience the nearness of his presence. God has given us the Holy Spirit, who is called the comforter — he’s in our lives to comfort us, build our faith, give us encouragement and hope.

Where are you at today? Is your heart broken? Do you feel crushed in spirit? God is near. He’s close. Seek him. He’s not far off.

The answer to our fears is actually God himself. Which leads to my final point: God’s presence brings perspective.

When you spend time in God’s presence, it brings perspective to all your problems and all your fears. In that place you realize — no matter how big your problem is, no matter how deep the fear — God is bigger. His love for you is deeper. His shoulders are wide enough. The burden you feel like you can’t bear? He can bear it. That’s why Jesus says, “Come to me, all who are weary.” Jesus invites us to come to him. He’s going to give us rest. Peace. Hope.

Verse seven: “The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him and delivers them.” Verse nine: “Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack.” What is this? Why is David saying to fear the Lord? Because when you come into God’s presence, it brings perspective. You remember who he is and how big he is. And God invites you not to be afraid of your circumstances, but instead to rightly place your fear on him. Fear God. David’s inviting us to fear the Lord — not man, not circumstances. Fear God.

What does that look like? Matthew 10:28 — Jesus says: “Do not fear those who can kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” Jesus says the same thing: don’t be afraid of people. Be in awe of God. We’re talking about a healthy fear.

David gives us a little lesson in what that looks like. Verse eleven: “Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.” Here’s what it looks like. Verse 13–14: “Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry.” To fear God in a biblical sense means to recognize who God is and to live for him — to follow him, to obey his teaching, to walk faithfully with him. So when you’re afraid and going through circumstances beyond your control and things are hard, God says: keep walking faithfully with me. Have the right perspective. Don’t get away from the truth. Don’t stop doing what’s right. Keep following me. Be faithful even in that place.

James 5:16: “The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” We’ve been given the righteousness of Jesus because of his death on the cross. But he still calls us to follow him and live a righteous life. We need to be doing the right thing, following after him, as we come to him in prayer.

Now — does this mean if we just pray and follow Jesus, all our problems go away? No. We’re still going to have problems. Look at verse 19: “Many are the afflictions of the righteous.” Even doing the right thing, you’re still going to have issues. But — “the Lord delivers him out of them all.” God brings deliverance. God rescues. God saves. No matter what you’re going through, God is with you, he’s for you, and he will deliver you. We just need to be faithful in following after him and bringing our fears to him in prayer so he can minister to our hearts and address those fears.

Have you allowed God to speak into your fear? Or have you allowed that fear to just linger? Is your fear controlling you? Or have you said: God, here’s my fear — would you take it? Would you address it? Would you do something with it?

Jesus said, “Don’t be anxious about your life.” We don’t have to stay in fear, in worry, in anxiety. There’s a solution. And the solution is to seek the Lord. Because he will hear and he will answer.

So — what are you afraid of? What fears are you dealing with right now?

Here’s how I’d love for us to end this morning. If there’s something in your life that you’re afraid of, I simply want to pray for you. I want you to know you’re not alone — there are others here also dealing with fear. So if there’s a fear in your life, I want to invite you to come forward and we’ll gather together right down here in the front. I’m going to pray over you.

It could be a small fear, fears about your future, your finances, your family. If you’re struggling with something and you’re afraid — come on down. This is your opportunity. Every fear is significant. But we have a God who has the solution. He wants to address your fear. And we want to pray for you.

Maybe even in this moment you’re afraid to stand up. Afraid to come forward. Afraid what people might think. From the outside, everything looks fine. But if inside something’s going on and you’re afraid — come on down. We just want to pray.

Those of you who have come forward — recognize you’re not alone. There are others here also dealing with fear. I don’t know what the fears are that brought you forward this morning. But God knows. God sees. And God wants to address your fear.

Church family, would you stretch your hands out toward those up front? We’re going to pray God’s blessing over them.

Father, we lift up everyone who’s come forward this morning. They’re offering themselves — offering their fears before you. Lord, fear can be a powerful thing. It can drive our actions, our attitudes, our decisions. It can be crippling. And Lord, I don’t know what they’re afraid of. But you see them. You love them. You know them better than they know themselves. There might be other fears in this room that people haven’t expressed — fears that have never been shared. But God, you know them. Would you address every fear? Would you take them? Would you deliver these people? Would you fill them instead with faith? Grow their trust. Grow their dependence on you. Some of these fears may be based in real and hard situations — God, would you address those situations? Would you deliver them? Save them? Bring them out of hardship? Take away their troubles. We are trusting and believing that you’re going to move and act. God, we know that you are love, that your perfect love casts out fear. So we’re asking in the name of Jesus that you would cast out every fear and fill us instead with confidence and trust and encouragement and hope. Thank you for your love. We pray all of this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. And all God’s family said amen.

Church family, I want to give you a challenge. Everyone in this room has heard the solution — what to do when you’re afraid. But there are people in our community, our city, our neighborhoods who don’t have the solution. They don’t know Jesus. And we want them to come to know him so they can surrender not just their fears but their entire life and have a relationship with Jesus.

So we want to provide an intentional opportunity for you to invite your friends, your neighbors, your families — so they can come to church and hear the good news of Jesus. We’re doing this on a Sunday we’re calling Neighborhood Sunday. August 30th, we’re going to have a church service out back on the baseball field. Our whole church is gathering for one service. We’ll have games for kids, food, a whole lot of fun. We’re going to worship the Lord and share a gospel message about Jesus Christ. And the whole reason it’s called Neighborhood Sunday — we want the whole neighborhood to show up. Not just for you, but for you to bring someone, to invite someone. We’ll be sharing more about this in the coming weeks, but mark your calendar now — August 30th, Neighborhood Sunday.

Well, church family, it is Father’s Day and we’ve got coffee and donuts waiting for you. Let me pray for our service.

Father, we thank you so much. Thank you for how you’ve been moving and working all this weekend. Lord, we look forward to hearing the stories of people who brought their fears to you and saw you address them. I can’t wait. We look forward in faith to hearing testimonies of those delivered from their fears and their troubles because of your love and your faithfulness. God, thank you for this morning. Thank you for all the fathers in the room. And Lord, we thank you most of all that you are a perfect, loving, good Father to us. We pray your blessing on our time of fellowship. We ask this all in Jesus’ name. Amen. Thanks, church family. Have a great Father’s Day.