It was a thought from yesterday's sermon, that we tend to seek our security outside of ourselves instead within, where the real strength lies. The speaker referred to psalm 23, the psalm of the Good Shepherd. "Even though I walk in the valley of darkness, I fear no evil, for you are with me," the psalm says.
Not to fear in darkness, now that is a test of faith. I think sometimes that test is asking us, how much do I believe in myself? How strongly do I believe in God's presence? How much do I seek within instead of without?
I am lucky that I grew up with parents who trusted me. They used to ask me to do things I didn't think I could do. Only in looking back do I realize, they were challenging my own opinion of myself.
Perhaps this is the meaning of walking in the valley of darkness and not fearing evil. It is God's way of saying, you have greater strengths than you know, you are stronger than you realize. You have a David inside of yourself that can overtake any Goliath. You just need to reach down for those pebbles of faith and trust.
Psalm 23 has long puzzled me for its seeming contradictions. "I shall not want" along side "I fear no evil". I did not find either true for a long time. I did want, and I did fear the darkness. But maybe they are not meant to be opposite, but complimentary. Maybe it is the darkness that teaches me not to want, because it teaches me that what I need is not out there somewhere. It is right here inside of me. It has been here all along. I just looked for peace and security in the wrong places.
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