Day 33 - Courage and Obedience

Do not Fear

Jdg 7:2-3 - The Lord said to Gideon, “The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast over me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’
Now therefore proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return home and hurry away from Mount Gilead.’ ” Then 22,000 of the people returned, and 10,000 remained.

This is an amazing passage of scripture. In order to save the Israelites the sin of pride, God purposefully reduces the amount of people so that only God can get the glory. As the story goes, the number gets reduced to 300 people and they defeated an army of 120,000. Though the passage does not say "do no fear," it does provide a very clear warning and example of what happens when we do fear. We miss out on glorifying and bringing honor to God. We give glory to that which we fear and we miss out. What a story these 300 men had to tell because they feared the God of the heavens.

Fear God
Le 25:17 - Do not take advantage of each other, but fear your God. I am the Lord your God.

If we fear God, we will not take advantage of each other. Why? Because we fear God and his discipline. When we fear God, it changes how we act on earth. Just as a child does not do something for fear of punishment from his father, we restrain on doing evil because we fear our heavenly father. This is why I believe John says what he does: 1 John 3:6 - No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him. If we truly live in Him, and we understand his power, his holiness, his justice and his love, we will not keep intentionally doing the same sin. Fear keeps us from sin.

Day 32 - Jdg 6:23

Do not Fear and Fear God

Jdg 6:23 - But the Lord said to him, “Peace be to you. Do not fear; you shall not die.”

Gideon has just seen an angel of the Lord and the words to Him are, "Do not fear, you shall not die." He would not have been commanded to not fear if their wasn't reason for fear. The angel of the Lord in all his holy array and beauty and glory just set fire to his offering and then disappeared. But the Lord still speaks these kind and gracious words to Gideon who in turn builds an altar before the Lord and names it, "The Lord is peace." What a great reminder that in the midst of fear, if we fear God only, we can have peace, a peace that passes all understanding. As Isaiah 8 attests that when we fear Him, he becomes a sanctuary. This vision of God emboldens Gideon to obey and follow the commands of God to the point where he destroys the altar to Baal that night. The verse belies his true motive by doing it at night: Jdg 6:27 - So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the Lord told him. But because he was afraid of his family and the men of the town, he did it at night rather than in the daytime." These honest words describe not only the condition of the Israelites spiritual state, but also that even seeing an angel of God, Gideon was still filled with fear. Whether it was a statement of his shrewdness, the reality of the present state of the the Israelites, or true cowardly fear, Gideon still gets the job done and it is an encouragement to us that God is gracious with fearful people like us.

Day 31 - Jos 11:3-6 & Le 22:31-33

Do not Fear
Jos 11:3-6 - to the Canaanites in the east and the west, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, and the Jebusites in the hill country, and the Hivites under Hermon in the land of Mizpah.
And they came out with all their troops, a great horde, in number like the sand that is on the seashore, with very many horses and chariots. And all these kings joined their forces and came and encamped together at the waters of Merom to fight with Israel. And the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them, for tomorrow at this time I will give over all of them, slain, to Israel. You shall hamstring their horses and burn their chariots with fire.”

The imagery of troops joined together which number the sand of the sea is intimidating but the Lord once again gives Joshua confidence and says, "Do not be afraid of them." If there was a time to be afraid it was this one. The troops are tired, the numbers of enemies are growing and they are teaming up together. This is the last war before peace. You can imagine him wondering, "Will God come through for this last one?" God is faithful and commands us not to fear. We bank our hopes on his faithfulness and walk in faith, not fear.

Fear Not
Le 22:31-33 - “Keep my commands and follow them. I am the Lord. Do not profane my holy name. I must be acknowledged as holy by the Israelites. I am the Lord, who makes you holy
and who brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord.”

Though this verse doesn't use the words fear, the Lord commands fear of his holiness. Keep my commands and follow them. Do not profane my holy name. I must be acknowledged as holy. Why must he be acknowledged as holy? We acknowledge him as holy because He is holy, Because it is for our own good that we set Him apart as holy and by His holiness, we can trust Him in his goodness and his wisdom and his love. We can fully obey because we know that nothing he commands is for our harm and nothing He will say will lead us to evil. We are to fear Him, to allow that fear to change what we do and how we think. And He is the one who makes us holy, He is our God and He is the Lord. We must continue to set him apart from anything we know and understand. He is the one we are to fear. He is worthy of that reverence and respect.

Day 30 - Josh10:25 & Lev 19:32

Do Not Fear
Jos 10:25 - And Joshua said to them, “Do not be afraid or dismayed; be strong and courageous. For thus the Lord will do to all your enemies against whom you fight.”

This verse is a bit different, because it is Joshua talking and not the Lord. But I included it because the message is finally sticking and the courage that Joshua shows is word for word what the Lord has been telling Him. When we listen to the Lord and trust Him, we can begin to encourage others in this journey of learning to not fear.

Fear God

Leviticus 19:32 -“You shall fear your God: I am the Lord.

We need this message to stick with us. Simple. To the point. Life-changing, awe-inspiring, God enabling...

Day 29 - Joshua 10:8 & Ex 34:10

Do not Fear
Joshua 10:8 - And the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not fear them, for I have given them into your hands. Not a man of them shall stand before you.”

After walking all through the night to get to this city, Joshua gets this message from the Lord. God's track record is pretty good, that when He says you win, they win. And, God does two miracles in this routing of this next city, including sending down huge hailstones which destroyed more soldiers than Israel's sword and Joshua also prayed that the sun would stop for a period of time and it did. Where God leads you, go with confidence and courage. Don't be afraid to pray big prayers.

Fear God

Ex 34:10 - Then the Lord said: “I am making a covenant with you. Before all your people I will do wonders never before done in any nation in all the world. The people you live among will see how awesome is the work that I, the Lord, will do for you.

I am not sure what I can comment on this verse that will add to it... God is, will, does awesome works that cannot be matched and are worthy to be feared.

Day 28 - Josh 8:1-2 & Ex 20:18

Do not Fear
Joshua 8:1-2 - 8 And the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not fear and do not be dismayed. Take all the fighting men with you, and arise, go up to Ai. See, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, and his people, his city, and his land. 2 And you shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king. Only its spoil and its livestock you shall take as plunder for yourselves. Lay an ambush against the city, behind it.”

This command to not be afraid comes at an important time for Joshua. A few chapters earlier, Joshua had sent a small band of his army to defeat the city of Ai, but was routed and 36 Israelites died. This was the first time the Israelites had been defeated and Joshua threw himself before the Lord in grief and confusion. The Lord responded to Joshua by telling him to get up and that the reason they were defeated was because someone had sinned. After letting God lead them to the right person, Aachan admitted that he had taken some precious jewelry when he was commanded not to. The consequence of his coveting was huge. But, as a result, with the Israelites now forgiven and holy, they are having a second chance at this city. So, the Lord reminds Joshua to not be afraid or dismayed and literally gives him the brilliant battle plan. Joshua did exactly what the Lord told him to do and it worked well. Sin destroys lives, leads to failure and defeat and causes grief for everyone. The only requirement by God here was to be holy and obedient. What a great encouragement to us this morning that holiness can lead to fearlessness. If we are holy before the Lord, we have nothing to fear.

Fear God
Ex 20:18 - When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance

If only we had this respect for God in every decision and every temptation. Someday we will see with eyes wide open the glory of God and we will fall down before him and worship like the angels in Heaven do, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty who was, who is and is to come..."

Day 27 - Josh 1:9

Do not Fear and Fear God
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.”

When we think of a verse that will comfort us in our fears, most people come to this one. It again strikes me that all we are commanded to do is to either BE or not to BE... BE strong. BE courageous. Do Not BE frigthened. Do not BE dismayed. It isn't a matter of war or strategy or innovativeness or ingenuity. Joshua is to be strong and he is not to be frightened. That is the extent of the commandment of God. The reason I believe He says this is because when we fear, we are unable to carry out the will of God. Fear paralyzes and gives someone or something more power than God. And the reason, again, that we are to be or not to be is because the LORD (the God of all Gods, the creator, the sustainer, the judge, the most powerful and righteous and Holy one) who is also YOUR God, is with you wherever you go. Again, the character of God is our foundation, our cause and effect, for our well-being. If you are going to fear anything, fear displeasing him, disobeying him, not trusting him or forgetting Him. That should be your biggest concern.