Are you ready to saddle up?

(photo credit: livebyquotes.com)

"What time I am afraid, I will have confidence in and put my trust and reliance in You. By [the help of] God I will praise His word; on God I lean, rely, and confidently put my trust; I will not fear. What can man, who is flesh, do to me?" (Psalm 56:3-4, Amplified version)

No fear. Do you remember seeing those t-shirts a few years ago? I'm not sure whether the message was that we should have no fear or that we shouldn't let fear keep us from acting.

A few years ago I was speaking to a group of pre-teens at camp and mentioned John Wayne. They said, "Who's that?" 

I knew then that I was old. (And that their parents had failed them)

Anyway, there is a quote attributed to John Wayne: "Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway."

Notice the psalmist said, "What time I am afraid ...". There is an acknowledgement that life can be a fearful experience. But shortly after that comes this: "I will not fear. What can man, who is flesh, do to me?"

The intervening words make all the difference: "I will have confidence in and put my trust and reliance in You. By [the help of] God I will praise His word; on God I lean, rely, and confidently put my trust".

The psalmist could "saddle up" because he knew he was in God's hands. Even if his enemies took his life, they could not take him out of God's hands. Christ-followers don't have to fear life or death because our destiny is secure in Christ.

Question: What is keeping you from "saddling up" today?

Leave a comment below.  I'd love to hear your thoughts.