Halloween is just around the corner. It's a day we make fun of our fears. Many dress up as monsters--not to celebrate monsters, but to make light of them. There's no such thing as actual vampires, werewolves, or zombies. These are figment of our imagination that serve to personify our fears.
Our fear is real. But until we understand our fear, fear
morphs into the monsters of our imagination that paralyze us. We cannot move
forward in God's mission for us because we fear the imaginary monsters that
lurk around the next corner.
This is the first in a series about Conquering Your Fears.
Today, I want you to consider: what are you afraid of?
God’s people have always had to
face their fears. God gives us the
ability to overcome when we trust God more than our fears. The Hebrew slaves who left Egypt had to conquer
their fears before they could conquer the Promised Land. Moses sent twelve scouts to check on the Promised Land and report bac their findings.
Listen to part of their story.
Numbers 13:17-33
17 Moses gave the men
these instructions as he sent them out to explore the land: “Go north through
the Negev into the hill country. 18 See what the
land is like, and find out whether the people living there are strong or weak,
few or many. 19 See what kind of land they live in.
Is it good or bad? Do their towns have walls, or are they unprotected like open
camps? 20 Is the soil fertile or poor? Are there
many trees? Do your best to bring back samples of the crops you see.” (It
happened to be the season for harvesting the first ripe grapes.)
21 So they went up and explored the land from the
wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, near Lebo-hamath. 22 Going
north, they passed through the Negev and arrived at Hebron, where Ahiman,
Sheshai, and Talmai—all descendants of Anak—lived. (The ancient town of Hebron
was founded seven years before the Egyptian city of Zoan.) 23 When
they came to the valley of Eshcol, they cut down a branch with a single cluster
of grapes so large that it took two of them to carry it on a pole between them!
They also brought back samples of the pomegranates and figs. 24 That
place was called the valley of Eshcol (which means “cluster”), because of the
cluster of grapes the Israelite men cut there.
25 After exploring the land for forty days, the men
returned 26 to Moses, Aaron, and the whole
community of Israel at Kadesh in the wilderness of Paran. They reported to the
whole community what they had seen and showed them the fruit they had taken
from the land. 27 This was their report to Moses:
“We entered the land you sent us to explore, and it is indeed a bountiful
country—a land flowing with milk and honey. Here is the kind of fruit it
produces. 28 But the people living there are
powerful, and their towns are large and fortified. We even saw giants there,
the descendants of Anak! 29 The Amalekites live in
the Negev, and the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country.
The Canaanites live along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and along the
Jordan Valley.”
30 But Caleb tried to quiet the people as they
stood before Moses. “Let’s go at once to take the land,” he said. “We can
certainly conquer it!”
31 But the other men who had explored the land with
him disagreed. “We can’t go up against them! They are stronger than we are!” 32 So
they spread this bad report about the land among the Israelites: “The land we
traveled through and explored will devour anyone who goes to live there. All
the people we saw were huge. 33 We even saw giants there,
the descendants of Anak. Next to them we felt like grasshoppers, and that’s
what they thought, too!”
The Israelite scouts reported the bounty of the land. It was a good land, a great land! However, the land was also full of strong people living in fortified cities and there were even giants living in the land!
Ten out of twelve of Hebrew scouts
were too afraid to enter the Promised Land. Their fear was greater than
their faith in God. Two of the scouts—Joshua
and Caleb—new the Lord God who brought them out of slavery in Egypt was more
than capable of conquering the land.
They trusted God. But the other
10 scouts were afraid and they convinced the rest of the people to listen to
their fear instead of trusting in God.
Their lack of faith caused them to wander in the wilderness for 40 years. Their fear paralyzed them.
Our fear can paralyze us
too. We can’t move forward until we overcome our fears.
What do you fear? The first step to conquering our fear is to identify exactly what we are afraid of.
Once we can see the “monsters” we face, we can compare them to the greatness of God. Make a list of your fears. When did you first notice that fear?
Was it triggered by something? What does that fear keep you from accomplishing? Name your fear so you can start to face it.
Our fears are always scarier when
they’re hiding in the dark. In the shadows, our imaginations run wild and blow our fears up to supernatural
proportions.
Once you shine some light on a fear, you may see isn’t as scary as you first thought. It might still be scary, and still dangerous, but at least you can see it for
what it really is.
Now that you can see your fear,
you can compare it to God. Is your fear
bigger than God? We don’t have to face our fears alone.
God promises to be with us. God doesn’t want your fear to keep you from His promises, but you have to trust Him.
The Hebrews were afraid to enter the Promised Land because it was inhabit by Giants. Do you remember another story about a young boy who had to face a giant?
David was just a young boy when a
giant named Goliath challenged the Israelite army, spouting blasphemies against the God of Israel. David was so small, he couldn’t even wear armor or swing a proper sword. However, David had something special. He trust
God. David knew God was with him and so David fought Goliath with only a sling and some stones and God defeated Goliath
through David’s faith.
God can defeat all the giants and monsters
in your life too, but you’ve got to
trust Him.
Don't you know that if you are a Christian, God is with you? He will never leave you. And if you are actively following Jesus and and doing His work, He will strengthen and help you. He will hold you up with His victorious right hand!
I challenge you this week to to make a list of your fears and also write down when you first notice that fear? Was it triggered by something? What does that fear keep you from accomplishing?
Whenever Christians celebrate the sacrament of Holy Communion, we remember the last meal Jesus shares with His disciples. I'm sure the Disciples were afraid as they sat around the table. They could sense that Jesus was in danger and they were in danger because they were His disciples. Maybe they were afraid they'd put their trust in the wrong person—that despite his many miracles, Jesus was not as powerful as the Roman government or their religious leaders in Israel. Maybe they were afraid of the trials, persecution, and death they faced because they’d chosen Jesus as Lord. Maybe they were afraid of what might happen to Jesus, who they loved, simply because He spoke the truth in a time when truth was not appreciate and was dangerous.
Jesus knew their fear. He knew the reality of the danger they faced. Jesus knew the "cup of suffering" He was about to drink, but Jesus also knew the power of God that wins the ultimate victory and so Jesus shared one last meal with His disciples before He was crucified. It was a meal that revealed the real suffering and death He was about to endure for our sake, but also a meal to give His followers strength, and help us to remember what He did for us. I invite you to find a church where you can share Holy Communion regularly with other Christians, because it is a special way Jesus has given you to remember who He is and what He did for you and to find God's grace to strengthen and encourage you to face your fears, knowing that God is even more powerful than death. He raised Jesus back to life on the third day and God will resurrect all Christians to eternal life after death.
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