From Fear To Strength
God wants to transform how you experience each day from a life responding to the fears of the world to bold belief that proactively brings the kingdom.
“I am now a hundred and twenty years old and I am no longer able to lead you...Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you...Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land that the Lord swore to their ancestors to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance. The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” The Lord said to Moses, “Now the day of your death is near. Call Joshua and present yourselves at the tent of meeting, where I will commission him.” So Moses and Joshua came and presented themselves at the tent of meeting. When I have brought them into the land flowing with milk and honey, the land I promised on oath to their ancestors, and when they eat their fill and thrive, they will turn to other gods and worship them, rejecting me and breaking my covenant. I know what they are disposed to do, even before I bring them into the land I promised them on oath.” The Lord gave this command to Joshua son of Nun: “Be strong and courageous, for you will bring the Israelites into the land I promised them on oath, and I myself will be with you.”
Deuteronomy 31:2, 6-8, 10, 14, 20-21, 23
Moses reached the end of the road. His time was up and he needed to pass the torch to a new leader. Very few people like change because of the uncertainty and fear it can create. Combine change in leadership with a call to go to move to a new place that is already occupied by others and you have a recipe for fear soup. If you slow down and put yourself in the shoes of the Israelites, is the natural response not fear, anxiety, and worry? Can you blame them for being unsure of how things would go?
God spoke to a felt need. He knew the people then and knows us know. He knows how the circumstances of life can cause mental, emotional, and physiological reactions within us in response to the fears we face. What is the first thing God says to Joshua? Be strong and courageous. This sounds great and makes for an inspiring t-shirt or bumper sticker, but how would Joshua have received these instructions? Isn't it hard to just "be" something?
If you Joshua was anything like you or like me, inside he must have been thinking thoughts of how he was unqualified, unworthy, or unable to be strong or courageous. This is where taking the time to understand what God is saying and studying the original words can give us help. The Hebrew words for be strong are much more about taking hold of strength than possessing it naturally. It is not like God is looking at a small, thin boy and telling him to lift 300 pounds? His command might sound impossible in Joshua's own strength, but this is where the awakening is meant to come for all of us. Are you ready to rethink how you approach each day? Are you ready to let go of the pressure of having to be good enough or be strong enough?
We were never meant to do what we do in life in our own strength. Pastor Mark Batterson has often said "God does not call the qualified, He qualifies the called." God is not saying Joshua you are strong enough and you are going to have to figure things out. God is letting Joshua know that if he takes hold of the strength that God will give him in each situation that he never has to fear what will happen. God has never lost a battle. He has never fallen short. He says clearly, "My son I am with you, I am for you, I will never fail you." This is the same message He gives to us today. We have battles. We have changing circumstances, but more importantly we have a calling to help bring people into the promised land. God makes promises to Joshua then and He makes promises to us today.
The word for courageous is better understood as being resolute or standing firm. We are not meant to give way to fear or fall back. The natural response for us in the face of fear is to take flight. God calls us to stand firm. If we will grab hold of God, His strength, and the strength of His words then we can be courageous. We can stand on the promises of God. What promise of God do you need to proclaim over a battle you are facing and how can you spend time with Him so you can receive enough strength for today?
“I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together. I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. Fear the Lord, you his holy people, for those who fear him lack nothing. The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all”
Psalms 34:1, 3-5, 8-11, 14, 18-19
David did not write this song on a sunny day in the midst of a relaxing Sabbath. David wrote this when he was on the run from Saul and actively being hunted by his enemies. How in the world could he extol, praise and glorify God in those circumstances? Wouldn't the most reasonable response be to be afraid and cry out in anguish? What is David's secret to standing firm?
David fears God over mankind. David recognizes that the source of his strength is stronger than anything he faces. He believes that God is greater. Mark Batterson also said that one of the best things we can do is stop talking to God about our problems and start talking to our problems about God. Isn't this what David does here? He turns his attention from how his problems might overtake him to telling his problems the truth about the God he loves. What does he say? Those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. The Lord is near and will deliver me.
One way for transformation to take place in your heart where you turn from fear to strength is to learn to experience God in your every day. David says taste and see that the Lord is good. Have you ever thought about your five senses could be a gift God has given you so that you know that He is with you, for you, and will never forsake you? Why did God give you the body He did? Is it not so you can see His goodness with your eyes, hear His voice with your ears, smell the fragrance of the flowers that He feeds, taste the sweetness of the fruit He provides, and feel the sensitivities of the Creator who created touch? Consider slowing down and using your senses to draw closer to the God who is always inviting us closer.
“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy. A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.”
Proverbs 31:8-11
Wisdom shares to keys to a life of strength and courage. The strength you grab hold of from God is never just for you alone. You are meant to use the strength you have been given to help the world around you. Jesus specifically said that how we help the least of these, the people who cannot stand up for themselves, we are helping Him. How are you using your strengths to strengthen others? What group of oppressed, impoverished, or needy people does your heart have a passion to help?
Wisdom says that the best characteristic you can find in someone you spend your life with is faithfulness. Why do you think that is? What is it about the way we are shaped by those around us that we benefit greatly from those who are faithful? How does faithfulness help strengthen us, move beyond our fears, and receive the blessings of God? Proverbs 31 lists ways in which a noble wife is faithful and it describes a life of action and intentionality that is other centric. What work have you been given to do that will leave a lasting legacy of how you impacted others?
“When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said to him, “Go, marry a promiscuous woman and have children with her, for like an adulterous wife this land is guilty of unfaithfulness to the Lord.” Yet I will show love to Judah; and I will save them—not by bow, sword or battle, or by horses and horsemen, but I, the Lord their God, will save them.”
Hosea 1:2, 7
How would you respond in this situation? God tells Hosea to go marry a promiscuous person who is unfaithful. What do we learn about the very nature of God and how we can draw strength from Him regardless of the actions of others? What is the natural response to others when they fall short? Are we not quick to label and cast aside? Where have you labeled someone instead of loving them?
God is a redeemer, restorer, and deliverer. He declares that He will save Judah not because Judah deserves it, but because God has promised to do it. God is faithful. God is worthy of praise and never loses the strength to keep pursuing all people regardless of how they have behaved. Paul said in Romans, while we were still sinners Christ died for us. God makes the first move and constantly demonstrates how faithful He is to us. How can this change how we treat others?
“Therefore, brothers and sisters, in all our distress and persecution we were encouraged about you because of your faith. For now we really live, since you are standing firm in the Lord. How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you? May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.”
1 Thessalonians 3:7-9, 12-13
Isn't it amazing to see how 184 days into our study of the Bible the texts line up perfectly? Paul says to the people you have stood firm and been courageous. His prayer for them is that they would now be strengthened by God. He is saying be strong and courageous. Paul give thanks that their faithful obedience has helped Paul keep moving forward through the persecution he has been facing. This is a truth that we see time and again. The very word encourage means to give heart. It is to give courage to others. As we stand firm and do the next right thing in our lives because of the faith we have in Jesus Christ we can literally give courage to others. Who could you encourage today? Consider closing your eyes and asking God to show you a face or give you a name.
The decisions we make have a much bigger impact on the world than just checking the box of following a set of rules given by God. God is about relationships more than rituals. We can show that He radiates in us through our responses to what we face. As we walk by faith and do what God calls us to do, our good works shine the light within us before others. Jesus said we are to be the light that our good works would glorify God. This is what the people in Thessalonica were doing that helped strengthen others. They just kept doing the next right thing and trusting that God would make a way for them.
The truth is we live in a tough place. You might feel like you barely have the to survive the day let alone seek out new ways of helping others. But, God calls us to something greater than ourselves. He says His ways are not our ways and His plans are higher than our plans. He is in charge if He is Lord of our lives. He says you have a calling. You are not meant to sit back and protect your comfort zone. We are called to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. We are meant to keep fearlessly purshing forward, strengthening ourselves in the Lord, standing firm in the midst of what we will face, and encouraging others along the way.
God has shown us through the lives of broken people on the run, like David, that we can experience the peace and power of God in the here and now by awakening to the God with us, within us, and all around us. He has given you senses to taste and see that He is good and vocal chords to raise a hallelujah in the midst of hardship. So take heart. Use your ears to hear His voice and decide to stand firm in the truth that God is faithful. Give thanks to the God who always strengthens, always saves, and always sends us to places where we can serve those in need so that His love can overflow through us to others.