Fear

Fear is one of those words that we know what it is, but it would be hard to sit down and write a definition of it.

Definition: An unpleasant, often strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger; anxious concern; reason for alarm or danger.

We have had a lot of fear in the last two years. Fear of getting COVID, fear of the vaccinations, fear of who might get elected president, fear of not having toilet paper, fear of the murder hornets, fear of losing freedom or liberty, fear of the loss of a job, fear of the loss of income, fear of eviction, etc.

Fear is a very real emotion. God created us with this emotion, and Jesus was probably gripped with fear in Gethsemene the night before His crucifixion. But in these verses, God has some very practical and easy point that we can take to heart in this day.

FEAR CAN HINDER US

As a child, I loved the old classic movie monsters: Dracula, the werewolf, the mummy, zombies, etc. I have always had a weird fascination with vampires. My dad had gotten some monster fanzines (fan magazines) from a customer and brought them home to me. I read them over and over, being horrified and thrilled by the old European stories of vampires who went out into the night to suck the blood of villagers. That was great during the day. But at night, I was absolutely certain that a vampire was waiting behind the door to get me! I was so scared that I was frozen in place, not daring to move an inch.

In verse 6, God says, “Be strong and courageous, for you will distribute the land I swore to their fathers to give them as an inheritance.” He is promising progress and prosperity to Joshua. It is like He is saying, “Hey, the berries are ripe for the picking. Just go get them.”

Joshua could have allowed fear to grip him and make him be frozen in place, like me in my bed. Many times we react to fear by being frozen in place, not being able to act. In our Christian walk, all the fears that surround us from day to day can have that same result if we let them. And if we focus on our fears, frozen in place, we cannot progress in our walk with God. The intimacy that we can have with God suffers. It can cause us to lose the joy of our salvation. Having fears hit us and stunning us at first is just a natural reaction, but allowing those fears to freeze us is wrong.

Psalm 84:11 tells us that “For the Lord God is a sun and shield. The Lord gives grace and glory; He does not withhold the good from those who live with integrity.” In this sense, living with integrity means not allowing outside influences to distract us from God for long. And we are promised grace, glory, and goodness when keeping an intimate relationship with Him.

NOT BEING FEARFUL IS A COMMAND

Verse 7 tells us, “Above all, be strong and very courageous to carefully observe the whole instruction My servant Moses commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right or the left, so that you will have success wherever you go.” Verse 9 even punctuates this by saying, “Haven’t I commanded you...”

We are not given a suggestion of being strong and courageous, and not to be fearful. This is a command. Having a momentary shock of fear when something comes along is totally normal, and is in no way wrong. Like we said before, even Jesus must have been struck with fear before His death. But He did not dwell on it. He could have dwelled on it and avoided the cross at any cost. But He didn’t. He moved on through His fear.

We as Christians are commanded not to let fear take our eyes and focus off of God. Being momentarily stunned is natural. But dwelling on that fear and allowing it to rob us of God’s goodness is sin. These verses tell us so.

GOD PROMISES HELP

God is not just a promise-making God, He is a promise-keeping God. Isn’t it great that in all of life’s adventures, God promises to help us. Verse 9 promises us, “Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” God promised to be with Abraham (Gen. 15), Moses (Ex. 14), Isaiah (Is. 41), Jeremiah (Jer. 1), and those who are born again (Heb. 13).

Numerous times in the Bible, we are promised God’s presence and help. Deut. 31:6 AND 8 both say that “He will not fail or forsake you.” Jesus promised us that He would be with us always (Matthew 28:20). Paul writes in 2 Timothy 1:7 that “God gave us not a spirit of fear.” God has promised to be with us through thick and thin.