There are so many ways to “come at” a fear you may have rather than swim in its anxieties.
You may have many successful ways in which you address fears in your life. I want to suggest one simple way, not necessarily easy, but a simple way to address fear you may be feeling.
Psalm 23:1 says…The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. It is a statement. This scripture is an encouragement. It is an encouragement to the writer, as he declares what he knows to be true about God. And it can be an encouragement to us, as well.
The writer is saying that BECAUSE the Lord is his Shepherd, he shall not want. The word “want” here means: “to lack, be without, decrease, be lacking, have a need, to diminish, to decrease, to cause to lack.”
I think this gives us a good insight into how the writer may be encouraging himself & why. Perhaps he had a lie lurking in his mind that his path was doomed. Perhaps he was being harassed by thoughts that the Father would not lead him. Or that his Shepherd would not provide for him. So, he reminded himself what is true. We could learn from this.
When you are afraid, when you have anxiety, when you fear….what is the real concern?
We know that God tells us to “Be anxious for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” Phillippians 4:6. When you come to Him in prayer over anxiety, what are you bringing to Him in your prayer? A hope He will take away your anxiety or settle your nerves? A general request for peace? Or a specific request for help in pulling out the root of your fear at play in the situation?
If we are to ask God to help us with our anxiety, it would be so helpful to know what that fear is about.
In looking at the first verse of Psalm 23, I suggest it could be related to one of the items above. When you feel fear – ask yourself….what makes me fear?
If the psalmist is encouraging himself that the Good Shepherd’s care will take Him from “want,” perhaps “want” is his fear. Ask yourself…
- Do I believe there will be a LACK (if I go this way)?
- Do I believe I will be WITHOUT something (if I trust God here)?
- Do I believe I will DECREASE or DIMINISH (in this situation) in a way unrepairable?
- If so, what am I afraid to lose? What will my life be like, if I lose that?
- Do I believe God can/will uphold me, if I fall into want? If so, why would I fear? If not, who is He?
Is there something I will be without, something I will lose, something that will make me smaller, weaker, more vulnerable in a way from which I may not be able to recover?
WHAT WILL BE TRUE ABOUT GOD IF I GO THIS WAY & x, y, z happens?
Maybe you can ask yourself what has given you concern…caused you to fear….stressed you or given you anxiety…what is the something you feel may come to pass or not come to pass if you trust God in an area? Is it true? Is it true about Him? What will it mean, if it happens? Would He lead you into lack? It may feel like a lack to you, yet could it be that He has something better?
If you can write this out & bring it to the Lord; if you come to the Lord in all of the TRUTH of what you fear, in the depth of if, in the specifics of it, I believe, sister, that He will meet you there. And, THEN you can ask for His help & relief; you can meditate on His goodness & Who He is. And how Who He is intersects with your anxiety in truth. Yet, if we don’t NAME the fear, understand it, get specific about what we feel may be on the horizon for us, how can we take it to Him in prayer & supplication with thanksgiving?
It isn’t INDULGING the fear to explore it, it is EXPOSING the lie within it. If we do not explore & expose the root fear, we may stay stuck living in a generalized anxiety which we do not even understand. I know that is not where the Father wants us to live.
Today, give Him a chance to be your Shepherd. Stay close to Him, telling Him all of your fears. Allow Him to lead you into the truth in your area of anxiety.
He is The Good Shepherd. He was David’s Shepherd. He is YOUR SHEPHERD. Your Good Shepherd. You shall not want. 💚
