Freedom from Fear

     For the next few days we are going to take a deeper look into the requirements of the shepherd to provide rest for his flock. The first one on the list was ‘freedom from fear’! I do not believe we have ever lived in such fearful times. We fear losing our jobs, losing our house, not having money to pay the bills, not advancing in our careers, not achieving success, getting cancer or one of the other plethora of illnesses, divorce, unfaithful spouses, decisions of our children, war, bombs, financial ruins, poverty, identity thief, road rage, natural disasters, public shootings, food tampering, death of loved ones, etc. Finding any kind of freedom from fear is an almost impossible feat . . . unless you have Jesus.
     The smallest thing, such as a jackrabbit can cause panic and fear in a flock. The fear spreads and grows until you have a total disturbance within the flock. There is only one thing that will calm a crazed flock; the presence of their shepherd! This is one reason why a shepherd sleeps in the field with his sheep. His presence frees them from fear from their predators.
     As Christians we are the same as sheep. There is nothing like the presence of Jesus to dispel the fear of the unknown, the panic over the present situation, or the terror of the unexpected. We have all experienced watching a child work their way into a good fit when their parent was not present; but then their parent walks into their presence and the tears and the fit instantly stops!
     Whatever is bringing fear to you today can be gone when you stop, see, and feel the presence of Jesus. When we are aware of His presence, everything changes. We stop being terrified. Our outlook changes and there is hope. He gives us rest, relaxation, and a sound mind. A sound mind is a mind at ease, at peace, not perturbed or harassed or obsessed with fear. This is all possible because we recognize and acknowledge that God is sovereign over all things.  Nothing has power over God!  We trust God for His outcome and accept His peace.
     We live either in a sense of anxiety, fear and foreboding or in a sense of quite rest. Which are you going to choice?

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound (disciplined) mind.

2 Timothy 1:7

Information taken from the book A shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 by Phillip Keller