Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil;
For You are with me.
For You are with me
by Matt Moore
Psalm 23:4, NKJV
Fear is the nemesis of every child of God. There is not a single person who doesn’t deal with fear on some level or at some point in his or her life. It is an inevitable part of living in a fallen world. Fear as an emotion is not necessarily bad, because it can help us to avoid dangerous situations which could be harmful to us. And the scriptures are clear that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
But fear that causes us to disobey or resist God is ungodly fear and it needs to be addressed, if we are going to walk in our destiny. At some point, all of us must face this kind of fear in our life. When ungodly fear comes calling, the temptation is to run from the Lord or try to take unhealthy control, instead of waiting on Him. Submitting to ungodly fear will take us down a path of destruction and separation from the Lord. It will interfere with our being able to mature in the things of God.
But what do we do in the moment when fear comes calling? Often, if not always, ungodly fear is rooted in a deep-seated belief that we are unsafe, exposed, vulnerable, abandoned, and on our own. This belief can get in through many different kinds of experiences. But once it takes root, the enemy loves to manipulate us from that place. How do we combat this?
We overcome the lies that the enemy has planted in us with God’s truth – the truth in our text today. Even when we walk very near to danger and fearful things – even near to potential death – we do not fear evil. Why? “For You are with me.”
The Lord is with us, even in the most frightening circumstances. He is always with us. When we can get hold of this truth in the deep place – the seat of belief inside of us – the enemy’s efforts to control us by fear are completely undermined. Because the Lord is with us, we are not unsafe, exposed, vulnerable, or abandoned. We are not on our own! We have the King of the universe with us.
Jesus has promised never to leave us nor forsake us. When we feel ungodly fear come knocking, let’s speak this truth into our “knower” – that deep place in our heart – “the Lord is with us.” Can we accept that as truth? Knowing the truth sets us free!
Matt Moore Matt is the National Director of Ellel Ministries USA where he serves with His wife Becky and their two daughters. Matt grew up in Indonesia. He was a corporate litigation attorney for 10 years and a pastor for 8 years before he joined the Ellel USA team in 2014.
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