Beloved,
Be gracious to me, Lord, for I am weak; heal me, Lord, for my bones are shaking; my whole being is shaken with terror. (Psalm 6:2-3)
There are so many things that can cause us fear. Right now at the top of the list is the coronavirus, and not far behind is unemployment and financial insecurity. David describes his whole being as shaking in terror, but he doesn't tell us why. It's possible that he's ill, since the word "weak" in v. 2 could be translated "sick with fever." But whether his sense of vulnerability and frailty comes from illness or opposition or something else entirely, he reminds us what to do when we are afraid. David turns to the Lord. "Turn Lord! Rescue me; save me because of your faithful love." (Ps. 6:4)
Our basic instinct when we're afraid is either "fight or flight." It's hard-wired into us. Most of the time what makes us afraid is not a pandemic or some other existential threat, but you might not be able to tell from our response. We get angry and lash out with hurtful words when our independence is curtailed or our desires are thwarted. We withdraw emotionally if our feelings or self-esteem is hurt. We grow defensive at correction, or even instruction. None of these situations place us in peril of death, as it seems David was in. And yet "fight or flight" kicks in all the same. At these moments, it's not our physical safety that's in danger. Rather, it's our sense of personal safety.
All of us walk around with an image of ourselves - of who we are or at least who we want to be and how we want to be perceived. That image might be one of competence, or independence, or intelligence. It might be a virtuous self-image, like "kind" or "selfless." It might be a social self-image, like "leader" or "teacher." There are as many self-images as there are people, complex and multi-faceted. But all of these "self's" are vulnerable and easily threatened, because none of them are entirely true. As sinful human beings, we create for ourselves false images that give us an identity that we can boast in apart from God. And since these self-images are vulnerable, we defend them in fear, lest they be revealed as the fiction they really are, and people see us for who and what we are.
In Psalm 6, David shows us a better way. Rather than fight or flight in the face of fear, he turns to the Lord. We are made in God's image. As Christians we are being recreated and conformed to the image of Christ. Our true identity isn't self-made. It's divinely wrought. And we can trust the Lord to defend his own image in us. But that involves finding our identity in his image, and giving up those of our own creation.
These days there are lots of reasons to fear the vulnerability of our self-images - sickness that threatens our sense of invincibility; isolation that threatens our social identities; economic challenges that threaten our professional and materialistic identities. But nothing we face right now threatens our identity in Christ or our dignity as creatures made in the imago Dei. It cannot be touched by a virus, or loneliness, or a pink slip. And so neither fight nor flight are needed. Only trust. As Paul reminds us,
"Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Can affliction, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, 'Because of you we are being put to death all day long; we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered.' No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us." (Rom 8:35-37)
Secure in Christ with you,
Your pastor,
Michael