Fear

Read Psalm 23.

"He makes me lie down in green pastures..."

Yesterday in my message, I talked about four things a sheep needs to be able to lie down and rest. You can listen to that here or read it here. Because of the nature of the service yesterday, a lot of things got left on the cutting room floor (some of which are still in the manuscript online), and one of those things was some thoughts on fear. For a sheep to be able to sleep, he needs (among other things) freedom from fear.

Are we any different? Watching a scary movie before bed is not the best idea. Those images and sounds can weave their way into our dreams and if not keep us awake at least make our sleep restless. Beyond that, as I said yesterday, there are many things to fear in our lives. War, crime, politics, and two old-timey words I really like: plague and pestilence. Everywhere there are reasons to fear.

When I was a kid, I struggled with a lot of fear silently, and I don’t know why because my home life was stable and my parents were supportive. I had a great childhood, but there was this undeniable quiet fear that hovered around me telling me something bad was going to happen. One day, though, while skimming my parents’ bookshelf, I came across a copy of Billy Graham’s book Peace With God. Now, I already was a Christian, but as I read Graham’s book, the truth that Christ was with me finally penetrated my stubborn shell. I can’t say the fear entirely left that moment, but something began that ended in me being more free from fear than I had ever been. I was reminded of the truth that Paul wrote to his young friend Timothy: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but one of power, love, and sound judgment” (2 Timothy 1:7, CSB). I can’t say I don’t still fear at times, but I do so far less than I once did. To find God’s full rest, sheep must be free from fear.

And so must we. Sheep know, though, that they can find peace by looking at the shepherd. If the shepherd is calm, the sheep can become calm as well. We look at other things. We seek success, admiration, money, addictions and so many other things that we think will keep us from fear, that will protect us when fear comes calling. But only the Shepherd can free us fully from the fear that surrounds us.

What causes you to fear? That's not God's desire for you. He wants to lead you into safe places and help you lie down in green pastures. I'm thankful for my Good Shepherd who leads me, cares for me, protects me, and frees me from fear.