Fear Not! -- part 1
Fear is a terrible thing when it consumes your life. It can paralyze your walk with God and separate you from His blessings. The spirit of fear can enter someone whenever they have experienced danger or feel their security is challenged. Some people go to scary movies and think it is funny, yet they leave with fear in their spirit. Halloween haunted houses put fear in children and for some, certain memories of the haunted house remain for a lifetime because fear entered.
Fear is like a magnet that attracts more problems. Once it enters our heart, it begins to bring anxiety, anger, rage, rejection, and all kinds of other emotions. It is a thief that erodes our faith, steals our joy, and wearies us.
Mothers of Nations, progress in our walk with God can be stunted because of fear. Often people refuse to press forward in the things of the Lord for fear of rejection or fear of making mistakes. Take for example these verses from Exodus 14: 1-19 where we see that the Israelites were afraid. Isn’t it interesting that even though God gave them an answer each time they needed help, they still surrendered to fear.
Exodus 14: 1-19 (NKJV)
Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, that they turn and camp before Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, opposite Baal Zephon; you shall camp before it by the sea. 3 For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, ‘They are bewildered by the land; the wilderness has closed them in.’ 4 Then I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, so that he will pursue them; and I will gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, that the Egyptians may know that I am the Lord.” And they did so.
5 Now it was told the king of Egypt that the people had fled, and the heart of Pharaoh and his servants was turned against the people; and they said, “Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?” 6 So he made ready his chariot and took his people with him. 7 Also, he took six hundred choice chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt with captains over every one of them. 8 And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the children of Israel; and the children of Israel went out with boldness. 9 So the Egyptians pursued them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his army, and overtook them camping by the sea beside Pi Hahiroth, before Baal Zephon.
10 And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the Lord. 11 Then they said to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? 12 Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.”
13 And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. 14 The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.”
15 And the Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward. 16 But lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. 17 And I indeed will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them. So I will gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, his chariots, and his horsemen. 18 Then the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gained honor for Myself over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”
19 And the Angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them.
These Israelites had fresh memories from the circumstances of leaving their bondage in Egypt. The Lord told Moses that Pharaoh would let them go and then pursue, but God would gain glory for Himself through Pharaoh and his army. Regardless of this assurance, the Israelites still panicked when they saw all the chariots of the Pharaoh in hot pursuit. They were angry, explosive, demanding, and accusing Moses of bringing them out to the desert to die!
In all honesty, we all do this at times. We feel God has guided us in a certain direction, and then when we come across our first obstacle, we panic and fall into fear. The Israelites did exactly that. They panicked. As we just read, Moses said to the people as they faced this obstacle in their path of deliverance that they should not be afraid. He told them to stand firm and in doing so, they would see their deliverance that very day.
How did they conquer fear? They had to choose not to fear and to stand firmly on God’s Word.
As we close today, take a moment to think about your own spiritual journey with the Lord. What examples can you remember where you learned this very lesson – to stand firm and see the deliverance of your God? Mothers of Nations, we choose not to fear. Fear not!
Dr. Sharon Predovich
