You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day ... – Psalm 91:5

Today’s Scripture Reading (October 4, 2012): Psalm 91

Night. It can be an uneasy time. I am 6’ 2” and weigh around 300 lbs, and more than once I have met someone who has responded to me with words like “I wouldn’t want to meet you in a dark alley.” The idea seems to be that I would not want to be with you in an isolated place at night. That would scare me.

People that know me know that I am more of a teddy bear than a grizzly. But there have been times that I have scared people. A number of years ago I played the part of Scrooge in “A Christmas Carol.” I had white powder in my hair and makeup on my face, and I still remember walking down a dark hallway just before the production was about to begin. I often like to be alone before a performance, just getting into character and going over my lines. And, in that moment, I am often very unaware of my surroundings. (By the way, the same thing happens to me before a church service, apparently often making me appear very unfriendly; in reality I am just preoccupied.) On this day I was walking down a dark hall alone when a young child who had escaped from the care of his parents ran around a corner and right into a preoccupied Scrooge. I think the poor kid had to go and change his pants after he had come face to face with the terror of the night.

What makes the night scary is that you never quite see what it is that you are facing. And because we cannot see into it, our imaginations often magnify the danger. The other problem is that when danger does come, in the darkness we cannot see it.

That is also the problem with an arrow that flies during the day. If someone attacks you face to face during the day, you can see the attack coming. But a good archer can attack at such a distance that you do not see the attack coming. It is the reason why news of sniper drives fear into our bones. We know that we will never see the attack coming – and, in that way, it is very similar to the terror that comes in the night.

This Psalm does not mention its author, but scholars attribute the Psalm to Moses (basically because the Psalm before it is also written by Moses.) And, maybe, it was written in that moment when Moses realized that he was going to have to release his friends into the Promised Land. Moses knew that he would no longer be there – but God still was. There was no need to fear the unexpected or the unanticipated events of life because the God that Moses had known face to face was still walking with them. He would be there overcomer of the terrors that only seem to come in the night.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Joshua 1