Heb. 13:6
So that we may be of good courage and say: “Jehovah is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”
The apostle Paul is quoting from Psalms 27:
1 Jehovah is my light and my salvation.
Whom should I fear?
Jehovah is the stronghold of my life.
Whom should I dread?
5 I called on Jah in my distress;
Jah answered and brought me into a place of safety.
6 Jehovah is on my side; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?
7 Jehovah is on my side as my helper;
I will look in triumph on those who hate me.
8 It is better to take refuge in Jehovah
Than to trust in humans.
9 It is better to take refuge in Jehovah
Than to trust in princes.
This scripture is a real comfort and strengthening aid for those with hard to control anxiety.
Anxiety disorder or attack is like when you are going down the freeway and suddenly come upon a line of cars completely stopped. Take that split second when you hit the brakes and don’t know if you are going to stop in time, frame it, and wear it at random times, sometimes for a limited time out of nowhere, for no reason, sometimes all the time for no reason.
Many times this is anxiety in crowds or in interacting with people. Sometimes, it comes out of nowhere. Sometimes it is the result of a situation. Sometimes it comes up for no discernable reason.
When you are in such a crisis situation, repeat this to yourself “Jehovah is my helper”. Make it a mantra if need be.
Meditate on “I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”
There is nothing that man can do to you that Jehovah cannot undo, and there is nothing he cannot help you through. Throw you anxiety on him.
Think of the Three Hebrews that were facing execution by the fiery furnace. This is what they said:
Daniel 3:17 – “If it must be, our God whom we serve is able to rescue us from the burning fiery furnace, O king, and to rescue us from your hand.”
That is the trust in Jehovah that we need to develop.
Luke 12:4 adds to the thought in Heb. 13:6 by saying, “Moreover, I say to you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body and after this are not able to do anything more.”
Another way of saying “What can man do to me”.
While it is natural to experience fear when you feel threatened, whether justified or not, we can keep in mind the apostle Paul’s reassuring words that immediately preceded the verse above: “[Jehovah] has said: ‘I will by no means leave you nor by any means forsake you.”
Paul would know, he endured a range of dangers and anxieties, some physical, some emotional.
Paul was imprisoned, beaten, and stoned. In his travels as a Christian minister, he experienced shipwreck as well as many other dangers. He was well-acquainted with toil, sleepless nights, hunger, thirst, even nakedness. “Besides those things of an external kind,” said he, “there is what rushes in on me from day to day, the anxiety for all the congregations.”
Yet, he wrote the above.
It is vitally important that we examine the basis on which our trust in Jehovah is built and that we do everything we can to strengthen and maintain that trust.
There is nothing more indestructible in the universe than a servant of the Most High God Jehovah.
