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Dwell in the House of the Lord Volume 2, Day 32

by David Joynt on July 08, 2020


PSALM 23:4a | 4a Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me.

 Focus and fear are connected. Dread is continued focus on threats and dire possibilities. It is an emotional storm system that settles into the soul and stays. David might have focused on threats and possible disasters. What if he was mauled by a lion and left alone in the wilderness? What if Goliath struck him with his giant spear? What if an enemy arrow pierced his armor? What if Saul’s troops found him and executed him? What if he died of hunger on the run or lost a battle to the Philistines and was enslaved, or succumbed to a coup d'état.

 Instead, David focused on the presence and identity of his Shepherd.

 Where and what is your focus?

Tags: fear, focus

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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