“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me.”
Psalm 23:4

Although a cute acrostic for FEAR, False Evidence Appearing Real tends to be more about denial and positive thinking than faith. Sometimes the evidence is real. The danger is real. The uncertainty is real. The diagnosis is real. The possibility of loss is real. The valley is real.

David did not say, “There is nothing here to fear.” He was walking through the valley of the shadow of death. Whatever imagery we attach to that valley, it was not a pleasant place. It represented darkness, danger, and vulnerability. Yet David declared, “I will fear no evil.” His confidence was not based on denying what surrounded him. It was based on recognizing Who was with him.

Faith does not conquer fear by pretending the threat does not exist. Faith conquers fear by refusing to make the threat the final authority. Fear takes what is happening around us and tells us that it determines what happens to us. It directs our attention toward circumstances we cannot control and outcomes we cannot guarantee. Before long, the danger becomes bigger than everything else in our field of vision.

Faith does not necessarily change the circumstances. It changes where we look and whom we trust. The valley may be real, but so is the Shepherd. The danger may be real, but so is His presence. The outcome may be uncertain to us, but it is not outside His hands.

That is why surrender is so important in overcoming fear. We can pray while still desperately trying to control the outcome. We can tell God what we want Him to do and call that trust. But genuine trust eventually reaches the place where we say, “Father, this is what I desire, but I place the outcome in Your hands.”

We do what obedience requires of us, but we stop trying to do God’s part. We take the next faithful step and entrust what comes afterward to Him. We do not overcome fear by denying reality. We overcome fear by trusting God with reality.

“I will fear no evil” does not mean there is no evil around me. It does not mean nothing painful can happen. It does not mean the valley will suddenly disappear. It means the valley does not get the final word. The diagnosis does not get the final word. The circumstances do not get the final word. The people opposing us do not get the final word. Our fears do not get the final word.

God does.