Whom Shall I Dread?

August 30th, 2025
by Natalie Selman

Psalm 27:1 says,
“The Lord is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the defense of my life;
Whom shall I dread?”

The Lord led me to this scripture one morning recently and the word dread really hit me. This was the feeling I had been battling. I was dreading the things I had to do. I felt as though the list of tasks and deadlines were never ending, and it felt like I was drowning. It was as though I would not be able to come up for air until everything was complete, and there was absolutely no way I could think about doing anything else or be present in the moments of my day until I finally reached the “finish line” and completed the long list of things that felt like a dark cloud hovering over my head.
Of course this is not a good feeling, this is obviously not walking in the peace that the Lord calls us to. The Lord calls us to lay down all of our anxiety (1 Peter 5:7), He commands us not to worry or fear.

Isaiah 41:10 says,

“Do not fear, for I am with you;
Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, surely I will help you,
Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”

God tells us all throughout scripture not to fear, and that we have not been given a spirit of fear. So here is the hard truth: when we choose to live with anxiety, fear, and just a dread of what we have to do in a day, we are walking in disobedience. We are ignoring our Savior’s command to us when He says, “Do not fear, do not be dismayed.” He wants us to lay all of that down because He knows if we do not, we will be trapped in a horrible cycle of anxiousness and we will not be able to live in the fullness He has for us.
So, let’s take a closer look at dread.
The definition of dread is to "anticipate with great apprehension or fear.”
The definition of apprehension is, “anxiety or fear that something bad or unpleasant will happen.”

So, we start to feel dread when we feel overwhelmed, but we see what the root of it is: fear. It may seem to you like you are just very overwhelmed with everything you have going on, but at the root of that is fear. It could be the fear of failure, maybe you won’t succeed at what you have been tasked to do, maybe you won’t even accomplish what you are supposed to, and you start entertaining all of these thoughts instead of taking them captive. When this happens, you start to fear, and you start to dread.

John 14:27 says,

“Peace, I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”

He gives us peace, not from the comforts of this world that so easily fails us. No- He gives us a perfect peace, one that stays steady right in the middle of the craziness. A peace that surpasses understanding (Philippians 4:7) which means: that when it does not make sense to have peace, you can have His peace.

We know He never leaves us or forsakes us, so whatever it is we have to do or accomplish, we are not doing it alone. We can take comfort and have hope in Him, He is carrying us through, and He is in the middle of everything we have to accomplish and to do in a day. Because that is another gift from our Father, He only tells us to focus on one day at a time, He gives us the grace we need for this day, and we can trust Him with what is to come.
If we truly accept these truths, we can see what a beautiful gift this life is, and walk in freedom, and be used for the kingdom- instead of being shackled by fear and dread.

The wonderful Taneka Thornton said, “fear runs, and faith walks forward. "So, if we are living with that dreadful feeling we will run from what God wants us to do, which is slowing down and accomplishing His will for our lives in a day, we will wallow in the feelings of being overwhelmed and just want to quit.

But faith forges forward knowing our God is holding us up, He is leading the way, and we do not have to be worried about failing or not doing it all perfectly. It is all in His hands and we can just live in the freedom and joy He gives. What a wonderful gift!

Let’s look back at Psalm 27:1,
“The Lord is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the defense of my life;
Whom shall I dread?”

We have nothing to fear and nothing to dread. No matter what trial you may be in the midst of right now, no matter what task you are facing that seems too big or too impossible to accomplish, none of it is too big for our God. He is not only greater and stronger than anything we face, but He also stays with you right in the midst of it all, He is longing for you to bring it all to Him and to allow Him to comfort you, to lead you and to guide you right through it. Hold onto the hope and the peace that only He can give. Allow Him to be the defense of your life and remind your soul: you have nothing to fear, you have nothing to dread.