Spotting our fears!

F-E-A-R! The four letter word that we are trained to fight, to resist, to never indulge in.


Fear. The ultimate enemy of anything we pursue in life.

Am I right?

It's the butterflies in our stomach before a huge performance. It's the short-lived hesitation we experience before boarding a roller coaster ride. It's the apprehension we sense right before baring our soul before someone who just might reject us.

I was comforted this week when I read Judges 6-7 about the story of Gideon. Being such a frail man, God chose to use him to deliver His people from the Midianites. Knowing Gideon to be afraid, God still gave him the directive and even made provisions for him in his weakness.

"That night the Lord said, “Get up! Go down into the Midianite camp, for I have given you victory over them! ¹⁰ But if you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah."

~Judges 7:10

 

 

I was encouraged because sometimes I'm prone to believe that the Lord needs to completely remove my fear or weakness before He begins to work in a certain area of my life. Before He can provide a need for me, or satisfy a desire or even fulfill His divine purpose in my life that I have to wait for Him to fix me. This one scripture would not let me continue to read because I was so lifted to be reminded that ...

 

 

"...for My strength and power are made perfect (fulfilled and completed) and show themselves most effective in [your] weakness. ...for when I am weak [in human strength], then am I [truly] strong (able, powerful in divine strength)." ~2 Corinthians 12:9-10

 

 

 

So when God told Gideon "Go with the strength that you have..." (Judges 6:14), I can be assured that God has given me the green light in pursuing dreams and operating in my gifts and talents. That even when my fear tends to flare up, He is there assuring me that it is in that very moment He is present and willing to flex His strong arm. I'm led to believe He delights when I'm afraid, when I'm unsure, when I'm hesitant...because its' then that He can rise up and show off His great strength. It is THEN that He knows He will get the most glory from the outcome!

 

 

[pictures from (gymper.com) and (thefrontierpost.com)]