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. Psalm 23:4 ESV
Evil is something that is scary, let’s face it. Evil people make vile threats. They seek to cause harm. They want to destroy those in their path. They think only of themselves and really don’t seem to care about what is best for those around them.
Our Scripture passage tells us to fear no evil. This was written by David. Remember David was a young shepherd boy who ended up slaying the giant, Goliath with a slingshot and a stone. David was called a man after God’s own heart in 1 Samuel 13:14. He was anointed as king as a young boy but would endure years of suffering at the hands of Saul, the first king God had anointed over His people.
David was pursued by Saul for quite some time. Saul was described as suffering from some type of madness or mental illness. One day he loved David and the next day he hated him. David often had to flee from him. David had two perfect opportunities to kill Saul but refused to harm God’s anointed.
Telling someone to not fear evil is a pretty tall order. David could do this, however, because he knew God had his back. David begins this psalm by saying God was his shepherd. David had spent time shepherding his father’s sheep. He knew what it took to be a good shepherd.
God provided all he needed, he provided green pastures for him to lie down in, he led him beside still waters to drink. Sheep are not that bright. It was dangerous to bring them near rushing water because as they tried to drink there was a danger of them falling in and drowning.
In verse 3 David said, “He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.” Sheep were totally dependent on their shepherd to safely lead them and keep them out of trouble. If we want our life to be simpler, we must be totally dependent on God to lead the way for us.
In our Scripture passage, verse 4, David explains that he fears no evil because God is there to protect him. David has experienced God’s protection. David knows that God takes good care of him like a good shepherd takes good care of his sheep.
We must also understand this. We can’t be fearful and faithful at the same time. Fear can be destructive. Facing evil people can strike fear in our hearts. The devil likes to step in and throw all those “what-ifs” at us. What if the worst-case scenario happens?
This can cause our fear to override our faith and we should never allow that to happen. I can tell you I have come up against pure evil and there were times when my faith slipped, and my fear wedged its way in there. But I just couldn’t live that way. The anxiety of it was too overwhelming.
I had to have faith. I had to give it over to God and I had to let go and let Him handle it. I had to trust in Him with all my heart, soul and mind.
My friend, if you take nothing else from this message today, take this, God’s got you. He will hold you up with his righteous right hand. He makes this promise to us in Isaiah 41:10 where He also says He will strengthen us and help us.
Evil never wins the war. It may look like it’s gaining in the battle at times but if we put our trust in God, He will handle it. Give it over to Him. It’s his battle. We just need to suit up, stand firm, and watch Him deliver us (2 Chronicles 20:17).
Yes, evil can be scary. This is how the devil wants it to be. He wants us to be scared, but we must know our God is bigger than any obstacle the devil can put in our way. When we put our trust in God, we have nothing to fear.
Fear no evil, give it over to God and let Him fight this battle.
Have a great day!