Ding, Ding, Ding…(in my best Michael Buffer voice)Welcome ladies and gentlemen to this epic battle that will last, an unprecedented number of rounds…an entire lifetime! In the blue corner, weighing in at a whopping weight that is solely dependent upon how much of it you have…from parts unknown…FEAR!
And in the red corner, weighing in considerably less (most days), TRUST!
Well, that is only partly true…it really doesn’t have to last an entire lifetime, but can control our lives if we let it.
This topic is something that I am personally dealing with as well as within the ministry in which I serve. Sometimes, it seems that Fear is so much more heavy in my life when I trust less. Battles are inevitable but victory is not. We often find ourselves fighting enemies that are stronger than we are. So how do you stand fearless when there’s so much at stake?
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV
Well, if God doesn’t give us fear, then who does? It must be from the other side, you know…the Devil! I want to share with you some truths about fear vs. trust that I have learned and am now having to relearn. Fist off, know this…no matter how old you are or how young you may be, everyone has insecurities in themselves…if not, then we wouldn’t need acne medicine infomercials or those zumba dance dvds or P90X for that matter.
1. SOMETIMES, I AM AFRAID GOD ISN’T FAITHFUL.
It doesn’t take long for us to wonder, God, where are you in all this I am dealing with? We go real quickly to the other side. One of my favorite people in the Bible is Gideon. Gideon was hiding in a winepress one day threshing wheat when he was confronted with this fear vs. trust thing. Look how Gideon replies to God after being called a Mighty Warrior…in hiding.
“But sir,” Gideon replied, “if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Judges 6:13
Don’t you just love the word ‘if’? Gideon was afraid that God wasn’t going to be faithful in this upcoming battle. He was full of fear! He was only looking at his own situation.
2. SOMETIMES I FEAR THAT I AM NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR GOD’S PURPOSES.
It doesn’t take me too long to figure out that God has an enormous plan for this thing called mankind. He is the Divine Architect and I am a gnat hanging around fruit and noses of people. Sometimes I even ask myself the question…Why me? Why now? Why this? I am sure you have asked those same questions at one time or another. Well, just know this and let it build your trust in God. God knew you before you were formed in your mother’s womb. He set you apart and thought THIS era in time would be the best place for you to fulfill His plan on this earth. He knows what you can handle and what you can’t and when you feel like you cannot handle any more, His strength is made perfecft in your weaknesses. That is the trust factor.
Gideon had this same issue…
“But Lord,” Gideon asked, “how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” Judges 6:15
Don’t you love it WHEN GOD USES AN UNSURE, INSECURE AND FEARFUL PERSON TO DO THE IMPOSSIBLE?
Here are some things that I have found to help me through this:
1. WITH GOD, HIS STRENGTH THROUGH YOUR WEAKNESS IS EXACTLY ENOUGH.
The LORD turned to (Gideon) and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out
of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?” Judges 6:14
The LORD answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites
together.” Judges 6:16
The LORD said to Gideon, “You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands. Judges 7:2a
2. WITH GOD, THE WAY FORWARD IS OFTEN BACKWARDS.
In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her, announce now to the people, ‘Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.'” So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained. Judges 7:2b-3
I often find myself taking little ‘retreats’. It may be at the gym and I just don’t quite run as far or lift as much as I want to or could. I find myself going backwards to recuperate. When I do this, I give my muscles a chance to heal and get stronger. That is when most of my growth occurs, physically and spiritually. Its kind of the ‘one step forward, two steps back’ attack. One day, I was riding a four wheeler and stuck it in a mud pit…I know, how do you do that? Well, I had to get someone to pull me out of the mud. So, they hooked up the rope to the back of my four wheeler and pulled me out…BACKWARDS! I had to go out the same way I went in. Why? Because I could not continue forward any more.
Progress is made through trust! With that, I leave you at the end of round 1.
Ding, Ding, Ding
Don't Be Afraid of Change
oneguyseyes 