“Freedom” and “conquer” are two words that keep coming up for me lately, which I always pay attention to for blog content, among other things 🙂 So let’s look at these two words – themes – together.

There is a song – “This is My Shepherd” – that has really been speaking to me lately. [Here is the song via Youtube if you don’t have Spotify]

The two words (themes) I mentioned – FREEDOM and CONQUER are both included in this song; let’s start with CONQUER:

You said “Fear cannot conquer me”, (yeah) for you already have, ha-ha
I’ve been conquered by something else, ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha
And fear, you cannot conquer me, I’ve been conquered by someone else
I’ve been conquered by someone else

Now let’s look at the three dictionary definitions of the word “conquer”:

1. overcome and take control of (a place or people) by use of military force ~ “the Magyars conquered Hungary in the Middle Ages”
2. successfully overcome (a problem or weakness) ~“a fear she never managed to conquer”
3. climb (a mountain) successfully ~“the second American to conquer Everest”

So look here in the second definition. Even the example sentence discusses the topic of conquering in relationship to fear just as the song does: fear being something this person never was able to conquer. Do you feel like that about your fears ever? 

What do the song lyrics say about the relationship between fear and conquering? It says that “fear cannot conquer me.” So fear is the SUBJECT in the sentence; fear does not conquer. Interesting, because the dictionary definition discusses fear as the OBJECT of the subject – something she, the subject, isn’t able to conquer.

So which is it – we conquer (or fail to conquer) our fears or our fears conquer (or fail to conquer) us? “We conquer fear” denotes OUR greatness, or lack of greatness if we fail to conquer fear. “Fears conquer us” implies the greatness of our FEARS – or the LACK of greatness our fears have if they do not conquer us. 

The dictionary definition – she failed to conquer her fears – implies a failure that has no hope attached. Whereas, the song speaks of fear as something that cannot do the conquering, because fear is not the subject. God is the subject, and God does the conquering – of our fears, of our failures, of our victories, of the WORLD (John 16:33)! We and the fears we hold become the object of what God conquers. If we surrender our fears to God, fear is conquered. Let me say that again: IF WE SURRENDER OUR FEARS TO GOD, FEAR IS CONQUERED. Not maybe, possibly, probably conquered. Done deal – conquered!

So let’s look for this word FREEDOM in the song lyrics now:

It’s my shelter
It’s your shelter, ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha
Just lift your hands as we sing this
It’s all good, just read scripture, you guys good?
Stay connected, there’s freedom for you

WHOO-WEE this song sends me! So back up, what’s the “it” here, you might ask? These lyrics come DIRECTLY after the lyrics I discussed above – so the “it” refers to the act of being conquered by someone else (GOD)……fear not conquering me, because I have been conquered by someone else – that’s the “it.” So it is this VERY fact I discussed above that fear CANNOT conquer us because God himself has conquered us, that is our shelter. It’s what we can take cover under. Reading scripture, staying connected……brings us FREEDOM – that last line. Stay connected, there’s freedom for you.

This song is essentially an anthem for freedom in the one who conquers fears. The laughing sprinkled throughout the song is a surprising and strange element when you’re first listening to this – especially when it’s played as background music to the chaotic lives we live. But it’s when we take it out of the background and allow ourselves to BASK in the TRUTH here that we actually understand the laughing and FEEL IT ourselves!! Hearing this song once I had shifted into the mode of grasping its truth and the freedom evoked from its truth is when I started laughing alongside her and just feeling that weight lifted! That weight we put on ourselves at all times, to grind and produce and accomplish and succeed. It’s’ a serious and daunting matter when we take on life this way. But it’s when we LET GO that we can relax our shoulders and laugh!! Laugh at the useless energy we continually invest. 

Of course I’m not saying we shouldn’t work hard or take on responsibility – of course we should! But where is the power coming from when we do this? When the work and responsibility starts becoming the object that we the subject are trying to conquer, we have to pause. We have to pause and remember that the subject is GOD, not us. And God does the conquering of US – did conquer, does conquer, will continue to conquer, forever! Past, present and future conquering of us and all that we hold. Therefore, fear cannot conquer us. It’s His authority that is our strength, and His authority that is our peace. It’s the comfort of His love, that takes away our fear. And the comfort of your love, takes away my fear. Why would I fear the future? For your goodness and love pursues me, all the days of my life. This is my shepherd…..let these lyrics soak in. Close your eyes and laugh alongside me, friends.