When people ask me what my biggest fear is, my gut response is dogs. I don’t like things that regularly lick, bark, jump and can only respond to commands like “sit,” “go,” or “here boy.” Since you can’t really talk to them, you never know what they’ll do. Any time I hear a “ruff ruff,” I think “When Animals Attack.”
But if I really ponder it, I don’t know that my biggest fear is dogs. Another thing I fear: the future.
For the last couple months, I’ve had to confront this fear. On the one hand, I’ve experienced the high of God taking a dream that began decades ago in elementary school, when I discovered the joy I found in putting my thoughts on thick-lined paper using those equally massive jumbo pencils, and most recently, packaging the love into an unexpected reality: law school graduation. I can’t believe how much He’s blessed me in little more than a quarter century.
But the end of something is always the start of something else. I’m excited about life after school, but also wonder what God has planned for the next phase of my life. That’s where the fear comes in. Will this next round be just as wonderful as the one that ended?
Recently, God’s spoken to me about my fear through His Word. I didn’t set out to do a “fear” study, but I kept seeing the lesson in the passages I read. One reoccurring story was the Israelites’ long journey to the land God had promised their ancestors. It’s likely a familiar story, as it was for me, but rereading it brought it to life again. I think it’s worth rehashing.
After God had delivered the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, He revealed to them the location of the land He had already promised. The land, Canaan, had other inhabitants, and the people were told first to send twelve spies to see how they could conquer it. After returning, ten of the twelve spies reported that although the land was as great as God had said, it would be too difficult to conquer it because of the people living there. In fear, they said,
“…the land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw are men of great stature. There we saw giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants) and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so were we in their sight.” Numbers 13: 32b-33.
Only two spies, Caleb and Joshua, said the people could conquer the land with God’s help.
“…if the Lord delights in us, then He will bring us to this land and give it to us, ‘a land which flows with milk and honey,’” they told the people. In response, the people threatened to stone them (Numbers 14: 6-10).
As a result of their fear and unbelief despite all that God had done for them in the past, the Israelites of that generation were not allowed to enter Canaan. Caleb and Joshua were the only exceptions. The rest died in the wilderness over forty years, one year for each of the forty days the spies were sent into the land (Numbers 14: 26-38).
When the Israelites were finally allowed to enter Canaan, they still had to face their fears. But before he led the people into the land, God told Joshua,
“6 Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. 7 Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1: 6-9.
I’ve always been a fan of verses 7-8 for the importance of studying God’s Word for obedience and blessing. However, the devotional book I had been reading pointed out the “anti-fear” lesson. God told Joshua three times to “be strong and courageous,” one time to be very strong and courageous. Why: because God promised to be with Joshua wherever he went.
That hit me. Often, we focus on how we find strength in Christ—sometimes to the exclusion of recognizing that also means we are to be actively strong and courageous. Of course, we can only be these things if we’re following Him, but I think the lesson of being courageous is still often diminished in the name of elevating God’s strength over our own. But God’s strength is our strength, so the lesson is one of faith and responsibility (i.e., “have courage"), as Israel’s story illustrates.
The story also explains the role that fear can play in keeping us from seeing the things God has for us. The Israelites had to believe that God would give them the blessings He promised despite the fact that with human eyes those blessings seemed impossible. Because they chose fear over courage, they in turn were disobedient and, ultimately, never received their blessing. God, however, was still faithful to His promise to give the Israelites their land. It’s a lesson that when we don’t choose to have courage, God still fulfills His plans, but we’re the ones who miss out.
A book I stumbled on at the bookstore also addressed the story, and had this to say about fear:
“All of us have struggled with feelings of self-doubt and discouragement. Even godly men and women in God’s Word battled many fears and temptations. However, they learned that resignation and disobedience only lead to further disappointment and defeat. God has not designed you for failure. He created you for success—not success from the world’s perspective, but success His way—which glorifies and honors Him and also brings many blessings” (p. 11).
Charles Stanley. Stuck in Reverse: Break Free from Fear and Disbelief and Enjoy the Good Things God has for You (2008).
That’s the essence of courage in Christ—fulfilling His purpose for our lives. The popular Jeremiah 29:11 says that God has plans not to harm us, but to prosper us. We can be confident to face the unknown because we know that God will never lead us in a direction of disaster (by contrast, we can lead ourselves that way). As the book excerpt also pointed out, God’s plans do not necessarily involve the world’s success, and, as we know, it does involve hardship (John 16:33). Fear—of the unseen or seen— keeps us from seeing God’s grand picture for our lives.
A final no-fear passage: Psalm 37, also about God’s plans for those who follow Him. Many like verse 4: “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” About not fearing in uncertain times, verses 7-8 say: “Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil.”
My favorite line: “Don’t fret-it only leads to evil.” When we get scared, let’s not forget the good God has already done for us, and His promise to guide our future. Forgoing fear and remembering His promises lead us to fulfill the God-given call to Courage.
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