“…Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me.” Psalm 23:4
One of the great lessons that David began to learn, and live by when he was a shepherd, was to fight fear, resist, and overcome it. Faced with lions and bears when keeping his father’s sheep, he was brought face to face with grave danger, one that could even end his life. The issue at hand was whether he would let the enemy of the sheep have free reign to take, and kill the sheep for food, or whether he would oppose, fight, and overcome him. David’s choice was not based only on the value of the sheep, but also upon his responsibility to protect and provide for it, as he was their only shepherd. That which made David to be bold in the confrontation was a truth and present strength. The truth was that God had revealed to him that He was with him, and in being so, was committed to him. When David was brought before King Saul at a time when the army of Israel and that of the Philistines were in a stalemate, neither side venturing forth to initiate the battle, and the Philistine’s champion, Goliath, daily hurling insults and taunts, David told King Saul: “Let no man’s heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with the Philistine.” (1 Samuel 17:32) David went on to say that he had confronted a lion and a bear, killing them when they attacked his father’s sheep. David would then reveal to Saul the secret to his strength, and his bravery: “…The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, HE will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine.” (v.37)
There was another reason for which David was courageous and strong, not giving ground to fear. It was his anointing. When David was brought before Samuel the prophet, God having told Samuel that He must anoint one of Jesse’s sons to be king of Israel, Samuel obeyed the voice of the Lord and anointed David. It was at that time the Scripture tells us, “…and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward.” (1 Sam. 16:13) So, for David to become and be the conqueror that he was, it was essentially because of two things. The first was that the Lord had revealed to him that He was WITH him, also that He was FOR him, and would not fail or forsake him. Then secondly, there was the provision of God’s strength to his heart by the Spirit. When the Spirit of God came upon David, the strength of Christ became available and operative in him. David would learn to live by Someone else’s strength and power, courage and boldness.
In the 23rd Psalm, David honestly brings us before our limitations and needs in regard to our lives, and the longevity of those lives on earth. Paul would declare that death was an enemy, and apart from the very few who never knew death like Enoch and Elijah, there is only one Person who has conquered it, the Lord Jesus Christ. Even the strongest of bodies cannot forever put off disease or the curse of sin to the point of escaping death, unless the Lord takes the believer to Himself at the moment of His coming, or the rapture. There is perhaps no moment in the life of a believer when he is so weak and vulnerable, as that when he is about to die. So David writes, that even though he walks through the valley of the shadow of death, he will FEAR NO evil. Why? It is because of the promise of God’s presence and power, that nothing can separate him from the love of God. God will not fail or forsake us. Secondly, God has supplied by the Spirit all the necessary resources in Christ to overcome all fear.
Dear Father, Quicken us afresh today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.