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Dwell in the House of the Lord Volume 2, Day 30

by David Joynt on July 06, 2020


Psalm 23:4b | 4b I fear no evil.

 Is fear your friend or your enemy?

 Fear can be a gift, an ally in the struggle for self-preservation, and an early warning system defeating imminent danger. Fear activates your limbic system, enabling a response to threats, provoking the fight or flight reflex. In all these ways fear can function as a companion to prudence and self-care.

 But fear can also cripple us. It can block other healthy emotions like love or gratitude. It can disable our capacity to choose and act, lest we err. It can be irrational, triggering anxiety without genuine threat. It can spread in groups and communities and become a permanent mindset, undermining faith and putting “worst case scenario” thinking at the forefront.

 When has fear been your friend?

 When has fear been your enemy?

 

Tags: fear, danger

About the Author
David Joynt

Dave Joynt began his service as a pastor at Valley Presbyterian Church in Paradise Valley, Arizona in September 2014. This meant a move away from the Northeast, where he has a long history, growing up in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and then serving congregations in Delaware and New Jersey for a total of 23 years.

Dave was nurtured in a great church in Bethlehem where his parents, Anne and Carey, served as elders. He graduated in classics from Lehigh University where his Father taught, and then from Oxford, where he met his wife Julia. Ordained in 1988, he completed a Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1993.

He and Julia have a son, Tristan, and a daughter, Madeleine.

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