Walking Out of Fear | Previous Challenge Entry

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TITLE: Walking Out of Fear | Previous Challenge Entry
By E Lopez
07/26/06
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I can recall a time when I worked the midnight shift for the first time in my life which lasted about three years. I was a new Christian, and I was still challenged by my superstitious beliefs in the paranormal. It didn’t help when a senior co-worker informed me that the section of the building I was assigned to was used as a temporary morgue after a devastating quake. Some employees who worked there before me expressed insistently that they would feel a cold presence and hear strange noises that would give those chills of fear. I was young and a recent convert to Christianity, so after much Bible study and pastoral consultation, I concluded that I needed to mature in Christ and ghosts did not exist; however, that did not immediately stop me from becoming occasionally horrified at a strange noise. Nevertheless, I had to work and overcome my fear with the Truth of Scripture. I must say that fear when it grips you, it will immobilize a person. With each working day that past, it became easier to overcome my fear, but not without the help of committing a section of Psalm 23 to memory, “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, KJV). I learned valuable lessons from those three awful years on the midnight shift. Indeed, I learned that to walk with God requires obedience from me and trust in Him.

Contextually, David applies his experience as a young shepherd to communicate God’s care and protection as the shepherd for the Israelites. Later, in the New Testament Christ uses the same terms to express his care not only for the Israelites of the New Testament, but His other sheep as well—the gentiles. One of several striking points in the verse that helped me in my three years of working the midnight shift relates to God’s guidance of His sheep that walk with Him. In other words, when I accepted Jesus I needed to leave the walk of the world and the things of the world behind as all believers have done. By choosing to walk with God, we made the decision to leave the broad, high road and take the narrow road which at times leads into the life’s valleys. However, God is our Good Shepherd and under His protection death can not harm us.

Looking back, it all appears so childish. I was afraid to walk through a dark building from work station to work station, but God used my childish experience to teach me to trust in Him as my Shepherd and prepare me for any other valleys that the Shepherd sees beyond my limited view. As David guided and comforted his sheep, and God guided and comforted Israel—today our Lord guides us and comforts us in our valleys no matter how insignificant or great they may be.

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