Do Not Fear the Terror at Night - Psalm 91 (2024)

You will not be afraid of the terror by night... –Psalm 91:5a

It is interesting to note that verses five and six of Psalm 91 cover an entire 24 hour period emphasizing day and night protection. But, what is more important is that these two verses encompass every evil known to man.

The psalmist divides the list into four categories. We will look at those categories one at a time, chapter by chapter. The first--terror by night—includes all the evils that come through man: kidnapping, robbery, rape, murder, terrorism, wars...! It is the dread--or horror--or alarm that comes from what man can do to you. God is saying, “You will not be afraid of any of those things...because they will not approach you” (Psalm 91:5-7). The first thing verse five deals with is fear.

Never before in our history has there been so much talk of terrorism and germ warfare, but to the surprise of so many people, God is not shocked or caught off guard by these things. Do we think chemical warfare is bigger than God? Long before man ever discovered biological weapons, God had made provision for the protection of His people—if they would believe His Word.

"Fear comes when we think we are responsible for bringing about this protection ourselves."

Over and over Jesus told us, “Do not fear!” Why do you think He continually reminds us not to be afraid? Because it is through faith in His Word that we are protected--and since fear is the opposite of faith, the Lord knows fear will keep us from operating in the faith that is necessary to receive. It is no wonder God addresses the fear of terror first.

So, how do we keep from being afraid? Very simply! Fear comes when we think we are responsible for bringing about this protection ourselves. Too often, we think,“Oh, if I can just believe hard enough, maybe I’ll be protected!” That’s wrong thinking! The protection is already there. It has already been provided, whether we receive it or not. Faith is simply the choice to receive what Jesus has already done. The Bible has classic examples of how to deal with fear.

The Blood of Jesus
The answer is in the Blood of Jesus. Exodus 12:23 tells us when Israel put blood on the door facings, the destroyer could not come in. The animal blood they used then serves as a type and shadow, or a picture, of the Blood of Jesus which ratifies our better protection, under our better Covenant.

When we confess out loud, “I am protected by the Blood of Jesus”— and believe it, the devil literally cannot come in! Remember verse two tells us, “I will say...the Lord is my Refuge and my Fortress.” It is heart and mouth, believing with our heart and confessing with our mouth.

Your Mouth is a Spiritual Weapon
Our physical weapons are operated with our hands, but we operate our spiritual weapons with our mouths. The Blood is applied by saying it in faith. Confessing with our mouth and believing with our heart starts with the new birth experience and sets precedence for receiving all of God’s good gifts (Romans 10:9-10).

If we find ourselves being afraid of the terror by night, that is our barometer to let us know we are not dwelling and abiding up close to the Lord in the shelter of the Most High and believing His promises. Fear comes in when we are confessing things other than what God has said. When our eyes are not on God, fear will come. But let that fear be a reminder to repent.

We walk by faith, not by sight. –2 Corinthians 5:7

We have to choose to believe His Word more than we believe what we see—more than we believe the terror attack. Not that we deny the existence of the attack. The attack may be very real, but God wants our faith in His Word to become more of a reality to us than what we see in the natural.

For example: Gravity is a fact! No one denies the existence of gravity, but just as the law of aerodynamics can supersede the law of gravity, Satan’s attacks can also be superseded by a higher law—the law of faith and obedience to God’s Word. Faith does not deny the existence of terror. There are simply higher laws in the Bible for overcoming it.

David did not deny the existence of the giant. Fear has us compare the size of the giant to ourselves. Faith, on the other hand, had David compare the size of the giant to the size of his God. David’s eyes saw the giant, but his faith saw the promises (I Samuel 17).

-Peggy Joyce Ruth

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