Early in the week I was reading through the devotion from “The Word in Season” and it stuck with me. You may know by heart Psalm 23 where it says “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me (4).” (or you may know it the way I do: Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil”)
The devotion went on to talk about a man’s response to his wife’s cancer diagnosis. “If God could just take away my fear, I think I can do this. Fear is crippling me.” The husband found a quiet place to pray and pleaded with God to take away his fear. Later, as his wife went through treatments, he described how his faith remained strong. “I cannot tell you the moment my fear was removed, but I can tell you that I experienced what seemed to be an invisible barrier all around me. Fear was present, but not breathing down my neck. God was holding me, and I knew it.”
God is with us. We have no need to stop living. When we goto God in prayer, we need to be God is with us. We have no need to stop living. When we go to God in prayer, we need to be honest about what is really worrying us. When I think of the virus that is everywhere bringing fears and worries into our lives, I pray that our fears will be taken care of by God so that we know the Lord can and will help us to live lives guided by the Holy Spirit in safety and peace.
Looking at Psalm 23 we understand that God is in control as a shepherd is over the sheep in his care. In verse 3 is one of my favorite Hebrew words—their word for ‘soul’ literally means “the very being of my being.” He restores the very being of my being. The psalm is also a beautiful reminder that Jesus guides us as a shepherd and even takes care of us when we need a table between us and an enemy—because God makes those conversations happen between people of faith who have disagreements.
And a good shepherd pours oil on any wounds to seal and protect the sheep. In fact, the abundance of care this Shepherd has with the sheep goes even through our lifetime with us as precious lambs of God. He finally, at the end of our lives, welcomes us into the House of the Lord—a place of welcome and hospitality, shelter and rest.
And if we look at our Philippians reading, in verse 6 it says that instead of worrying about everything, the people are to bring everything to God in prayer. Prayer is a practice of being in conversation with God about our lives and our worries. Our own worries take our focus away from others who need us too.
Always we are by prayer with thanksgiving to let our requests, our cares and worries be known to God. It is then (verse 7) that the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. It is this peace that surrounds us when we are able to be honest with God about our worries and fears during this time of trouble. God is with us, calming our fear so that we will make it through together.