"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil." Ps. 23:4. What enabled the Psalmist to pray in this way? How can anyone say, "I will not fear, even though I know I am facing what is called death"? Isn't it natural to be afraid, since we're told that fear is a defense mechanism?
Fear may be considered a defense mechanism, but I know from my own experience that the removal of fear very definitely preserved me from serious injury in one instance, and from what all my military and civilian flight training told me would be certain death in another.
In the first instance, I was attempting to repair a portion of our home's second-story roof when it became quite obvious the roof was too slippery for me to remain on it. As I was sliding toward the edge, a healing account of a similar experience told by a Christian Science lecturer came vividly to mind, calming my thought and assuring me of God's loving care and of my safety. I knew immediately that I must avoid becoming entangled in the ladder while using it to break my fall. Next, I knew that the spiritual truth which had protected the lecturer's husband—that nothing could be out of control in omnipotent Mind's universe— was just as applicable in my circumstance. My obedience and receptivity to God's care gave me a solution to my immediate problem, and the realization that I was not out of control, regardless of appearances, removed all fear, and I was unharmed. My wife later remarked that she saw me "float to the ground like a leaf from a tree." Had I been subject to fear, I would not have been trusting in God, who "upholdeth all that fall." Ps. 145:14. Human logic would have told me to concentrate on avoiding injury, perhaps freezing me with fear instead of alerting me to listen for and follow spiritual guidance.
