Day 5: Whom Shall I Fear?

Psalm 56:1-13 NIV
1 Be merciful to me, my God, for my enemies are in hot pursuit; all day long they press their attack.
2 My adversaries pursue me all day long; in their pride many are attacking me.
3 When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.
4 In God, whose word I praise;in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?
5 All day long they twist my words; all their schemes are for my ruin.
6 They conspire, they lurk, they watch my steps, hoping to take my life.
7 Because of their wickedness do not let them escape; in your anger, God, bring the nations down.
8 Record my misery; list my tears on your scroll; are they not in your record?
9 Then my enemies will turn back when I call for help. By this I will know that God is for me.
10 In God, whose word I praise, in the Lord, whose word I praise;
11 in God I trust and am not afraid. What can man do to me?
12 I am under vows to you, my God; I will present my thank offerings to you.
13 For you have delivered me from death and my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before God in the light of life.

This morning, in the early hours before my alarm signaled it was time to get up, I had two dreams. I don't frequently have dreams that are so vivid as these, but when they occur I feel like they are either a gift from God ir an attack on me by the Kingdom of darkness.
I am no dream interpreter but every now and the I get a glimpse of truth in them somewhere. Today was a day I glimpsed a bit of truth.
The first dream I had was definitely an attack of some sort. In it I was at work. I helped a little pre-k child get back to class and my principal stopped. A family member was sick in another country and it looked like this person was not going to live. The scene changed and I was in a restaurant booth, my principal was still there for some reason, and so was someone from hospice. And when the man started talking I had a panic attack - flashbacks from when my dad died. It was awful. I started screaming at the restaurant that they weren't going to die. He needed to leave! They weren't going to die! I was crying out to God not to let them die.
At this point, I woke up. I was sobbing already and screaming in my head the same things I was saying in my dream, "They are not going to die! They can't die! God you can't let them die!" Joel, who I woke up, had to calm me down even though he was half asleep. I continued to say the words over and over again and at last I rested know God would not let them die.
The next dream was much nicer. I was hiking with family in the mountains. There was a waterfall that I wanted to stop at and I encouraged them to continue on without me. As I sat by the waterfall, staring at the pool, and dangling my feet in the water, a black bear came in sight across from me. She was beautiful. I was sitting in awe, trying not to move, and furiously snapping pictures with my camera from my lap. Then the bear dove into the water and came out on the other side just thirty feet from me. I relaxed a little as it moved from my line of sight but still did not move.
All of a sudden the massive bear was snuffling at my head on the other side of the rock I was leaning against. Then she ambled around to look at me closely. She snorted and sniffed in my ear. I could feel her cold nose on me cheek. I struggled to decide if my eyes should be open or closed. I didn't want to miss this so I settled on half open and peering through my lashes. Somehow I manage to turn my camera, thanking God the flash and shutter sound are off, and I'm snapping away blind.
Then she nudges me hard with her head. I'm so tense I just fall over stiff as a board. I lay there still. She comes closer. She gently swipes at me with her paw; my skin being so delicate I still bleed.
Almost immediately, voices are heard coming down the trail. My family. The bear - nervous at the noise - moves off. My family sees me on the ground and run over to help me. Joel binds my arm. I am still in shock - not from the wound but from the bear's mighty presence. I am in awe.

What I am leading up to is this... every moment of every day we are under attack. Sometimes it's people, weather, circumstances or the kingdom of darkness. Mostly, more than we know I'm sure, it's the kingdom of darkness at work. But if we trust in God, whom shall we fear? What can man do to you? What can cast out angels do to you? Nothing that will separate you from God and your true home. Only you can turn and walk away from those. But if you hold tight, praise the Lord, thank the Lord, love him and know him, nothing can destroy you. You don't deserve the devotion God gives you. But just as the psalmist wrote, "When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise—in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?" Who can harm you for eternity? Not men. Not nature. Not death. Not the kingdom of darkness. Not with our God.