Fear

How much of God’s blessing do we miss because we are afraid? It was time for the Israelites to enter into the promise land, but first God requested Moses to send men to spy out the land of Canaan “and see what the land [was like], and whether the people who dwell in it [were] strong or weak, whether they [were] few or many, and whether the land that they dwell in [was] good or bad, and whether the cities that they dwell in [were] camps or strongholds, and whether the land [was] rich or poor, and whether there [were] trees in it or not” (Numbers 12:18 – 20, ESV). The spies went and after forty days of spying out the land they returned with their report. They gave a good report of the land, but – except for Joshua and Caleb – they said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are” (Num. 13:31, ESV). They were not willing to consider God’s strength, but only theirs and as a result they were afraid. This fear caused them to rebel against God, causing the generation that came from Egypt to die outside the promise land.

How many promise lands have you not entered because of fear? Fear has been a problem in my life and shows itself in the form of worry. As a result I have been a frequent user of Philippians 4:6 – 7. After all these years, why is fear still a problem in my life? It is because of my focus just as it was for the Israelites. If my focus in on God and I abide in him, I find “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18, NASB). But when my focus is on me and what I think I have to do in my strength then fear easily becomes my enemy and I feel defeated before engaging in the battle. The Bible is filled with stories of people, who fell short because of fear, but there are also many stories of those who walked in obedience by faith and experienced God’s blessing. There have been times when I have walked in obedience and experience those rich blessings of God, but there are still times – but not as frequent – when my focus gets blurred, allowing fear to leak in and cause an anxious moment.

Let us give God his rightful place in our life so that we can enjoy his blessing and not the fruit of fear that tends to make life much more difficult and not as satisfying.