Travelling Into Fear

Psalm 23:4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. (ESV)

So, when fear strikes, how do you respond? On the one hand, the instinct to retreat to safety is so strong. On the other, something in your gut tells you that you have to deal with this.

One of my favourite cartoon characters, Charlie Brown, once said, “No problem is so big or so complicated that it can’t be run away from.” Ain’t that the truth! But how well has that worked for you in the past?

No, sometimes you do have to deal with the root cause. And that often means travelling through places you’d rather not travel through.

Psalm 23:4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. (ESV)

Like it or not, you sometimes find yourself walking through the valley of the shadow of death. But here’s the good news. God is with you even in that place … especially in that place.

And it’s for the very reason that God is walking that road with you that you need fear no evil. It’s in that very place that you experience God’s love in the most powerful way. And it’s in that darkest valley that He shapes you, moulds you, into the person He always meant for you to be.

Someone once said that when you travel in the direction of your fear, when you do what scares you, you end up living the kind of life that others missed. True.

But whatever befalls you … goodness and mercy will follow you all the days of your life and you will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

That’s His Word. Fresh … for you … today.