I SHALL NOT WANT FOR COURAGE

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil…– Psalm 23: 4a

Our Eternal Shepherd deals with our fears in times of trial and through the dark alleys and deep valleys of life. Being one of the most defenceless creatures on earth, a sheep needs COURAGE. Next to a lion, wolf or bear, what can a helpless sheep do? Thank God, we have the Shepherd of our souls as our Shield and Defender. Therefore, we must not be blinded by fear to begin to flee from the devil. Rather, we must be sober, vigilant, and watchful, looking up to see that our Lord and Shepherd Jesus is near, and ensuring that we have not strayed away from Him (1Pet.5:8).

We need COURAGE to COMMIT everything into our Shepherd’s hands; courage to let go and let God; and courage to stand on the authority of His Word, unmoved by the waves and storms of life (Mt.14:24-32). It is time to put fear to flight. Paul demonstrated such courage in the midst of great storms and tempests and emerged triumphant (Acts 27:20-25).

We need COURAGE to TRUST, even in the face of imminent dangers. God did not give us the spirit of fear, but of power, love, and sound mind (2Tim.1:7). Our Shepherd has already fought on our behalf, triumphed gloriously and obtained the Victory (Col.2:15). Satan has been defeated hands down. Peter learnt this lesson through the denial experience (Lk.22:31-34, 54-62). He was ultimately restored and learned to trust the Shepherd. His story ended on the note of victory and glory (Acts 12:1-11). Jehoshaphat also demonstrated courage through the trial of trust, and came out victorious (2Chr.20:15-30).

We need COURAGE to FIGHT the good fight of faith; not a fleshly fight (1Tim.6:12). To the Shepherd, we are SHEEP, but in our war against the devil, we are trained to be GOOD SOLDIERS (2Tim.2:3). Let the devil roar, our Great Shepherd is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, and He is ever with us! With the Great Shepherd as our Grand Commander, we can take the Kingdom by the force of faith (Mt.11:12; Eph.6:10-18).