Fall 2024

Sports Spectrum Daily Devotional: Thursday, November 12

“The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.” — Psalm 23:1

Fear or Peace

The root of fear is based around control, and when we feel out of control, fear begins to take centerstage. We have to regain it, we can’t just sit idly by and do nothing. So we panic, we plot, we scheme, we manipulate, we even cry out to the Lord, but our motives are out of whack (James 4:3) — all in the name of trying to escape the fear of being out of control!

What has this COVID-19 time revealed about your current state with the King? Has fear gripped your soul or has peace? If you are like me, I enjoy a good conspiracy theory from time to time, but where will that lead me? Whenever I am dealing with a person in crisis, I try to remind them to hold on to what they know to be true and release everything else. As David penned Psalm 23 some 3,000 years ago, he did the same thing. He held on to what he knew to be true of the Lord and released everything else.

With that said, what does it mean that the Lord is my Shepherd? How do I apply that to my life? What does David mean when he stated that he “lacks nothing”? There is a peace that comes with resting in the Lord, and you can’t just rush into this place, it takes time. The trial only reveals where we currently are placing our trust. How we respond will expose us big time.

— Brian Hommel, Arizona Diamondbacks chaplain

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