Joshua 1:9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
I was working out on the rings at the gym, and someone came up to me and pointed out the dangers of getting hurt (for someone my age). The implication is that I should be more afraid of hurting myself because I’m older than most of the people at the gym and it can take longer to heal if I get hurt. I thought, sometimes new routines can be challenging and there are moments of uncertainty, but I just do it afraid until I’m not. Then, eventually, I’ve got the new routine down. I think that goes for anything in life. How do we overcome fear and life’s obstacles unless we are experiencing them and learning how to defeat them? The explorers and trailblazers would never have gone anywhere had they not gone out to the wild unknown. Had they allowed fear to stop them from overcoming all the odds against them, they would not have accomplished anything. We all need to have a trailblazing attitude toward the things that scare us, otherwise, we will never go forward and overcome anything worth accomplishing.
The word overcome implies that there will be a struggle to conquer something challenging or sometimes fearful. We need to overcome the fears and challenges of life. We were created to face confrontations, hardships, and difficulties by finding ways to keep our lives and bodies healthy, wise, and inquisitive through the hardships of life. We were created to create. With God’s directions, we were created to take charge of the world and manage it for the good of all. Gen. 1:26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
Whether we realize it or not, there is a lot of responsibility in ruling over all of creation. Some of the world events and scenarios are going to cause fear and present an opportunity to be afraid just because of the overwhelming difficulty of managing it all. We will need to learn to do it afraid until we are not. Knowing that the Lord is encouraging us forward will help us rule by faith. Will we make mistakes? We sure will, but with God, we will improve in our decision-making. Isa. 41:13 For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.”
The Lord asks us to spread the good news of not needing to live in a constant state of fear. Isa. 35:4 Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.” Yes, we can be strong in the Lord. When the children of Israel were stuck between the Red Sea and Pharaoh’s chariots coming fast upon them, fear was the prevalent feeling among the people. Ex. 14:10 When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the LORD. They were afraid but had to overcome the fear by believing God’s word of deliverance given to them through Moses. Ex. 14:13 Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. They might have been apprehensive to go forward but they went through the Red Sea on dry land and did it afraid until they were not.
The Psalmist says it best. Psalm 27:1 The Lord is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid? What have you partnered with that keeps you in fear? We are encouraged to let the Lord be the stronghold of our souls so that we overcome fear. If you have partnered with anything other than God to get through life, then chances are you will struggle and be fearful most of the time. The Lord has not given us a spirit of fear. Christ Jesus has given us His redemptive strength to be courageous in the battle of life. Plus, He has given us His armour to wear so that we defeat the attacks of the enemy that will come our way. Eph. 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.
It is God’s will that we learn to trust Him when He says not to fear and believe that He is going to be with us wherever we go. Josh. 1:9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” For a lot of people, this is going to be a hard thing to learn and believe. Therefore, do it afraid unto you are not. Learn to grow in faith and become trusting in your relationship with the Lord until one day you are declaring, I will not be afraid!” Psalm 118:6 The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? Blessings and peace.
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