What are you afraid of? Spiders? Stink bugs? Snakes? Are you afraid of failure? Of losing someone that you love? Of dying before you get a chance to experience a milestone like seeing your kids get married? Are you afraid of being hurt by others or of hurting someone else? Here is a biggie - Are you afraid that you might do something to cause God to turn His back on you? Of being disobedient to Him and suffering some consequences?
How do we overcome these fears? I guess the better question is – how do we allow God to help us overcome these fears? Fears that keep us from taking chances on God’s behalf, fears that keep us bottled up inside ourselves, fears that keep us from living the best life that God has planned for us every day?
I believe the answer lies in realizing that God knows our end from our beginning. Isaiah 46:10 tells us this – “I declare the end from the beginning, and from long ago what is not yet done, saying: My plan will take place, and I will do all My will.” And Psalm 121:7 says, “The LORD keeps you from all harm and watches over your life.”
There you have it. No need to be afraid. Sermon’s over. Have a great day. Seriously, sometimes I feel like doing that – uncovering a problem, quoting the verse, and expecting that everybody will be happy with that and will take the Bible at face value and just live it out. But life isn’t like that – we need more proof!
Turn with me if you will to Joshua 1:1 – Joshua was Moses’ successor. At the end of the book of Deuteronomy, the book right before Joshua in the Old Testament, we learn that “Joshua son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him. So the people of Israel obeyed him, doing just as the Lord had commanded Moses.”
Now here we learn of the Lord’s charge to Joshua…
After the death of Moses the LORD’s servant, the LORD spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant. He said, 2 “Moses my servant is dead. Therefore, the time has come for you to lead these people, the Israelites, across the Jordan River into the land I am giving them. 3 I promise you what I promised Moses: ‘Wherever you set foot, you will be on land I have given you— 4 from the Negev wilderness in the south to the Lebanon mountains in the north, from the Euphrates River in the east to the Mediterranean Sea[a] in the west, including all the land of the Hittites.’ 5 No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you.
6 “Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them. 7 Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. 8 Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. 9 This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.’
‘Joshua then commanded the officers of Israel, Go through the camp and tell the people to get their provisions ready. In three days, you will cross the Jordan River and take possession of the land the Lord your God is giving you.”
There is a lot of information in this passage, but there is one thing I don’t see. I don’t see anywhere that it says that Joshua was afraid. Nowhere do we read Joshua praying to God to help him ease his fears, saying that he is terrified, or hesitating to follow God because he is afraid to do what God called him to do.
But three times God tells Joshua to “be strong and courageous.” Why would he say this if Joshua never even said he was afraid? I mean, Joshua was no wimp! He had gone out as a spy when Moses sent him, seeing fortified cities and giants. He was a fierce warrior who lived for 40 years in the desert after the Exodus from Egypt. He was one of only 2 men who were willing to fight the giants and believed that they could conquer them. So why would God tell him three times to be brave?
First of all, God knew the OBJECTIVE. He knew that what He was asking of Joshua would look HUGE in his sight. He is supposed to lead a nation of several million people into the Promised Land. Joshua already knew that they would be coming against fortified cities and the Anakim – the giants - who had filled the Israelites with terror 40 years earlier.
Not only did he have to conquer the people who lived in the area, but he had to protect the women and children, make sure they had food, make sure the animals were taken care of, clothing, weapons, and I can’t imagine what else. If I was Joshua, these are the thoughts that would have been going through my head. I would have a HUGE to-do list before I could go into battle. And right there – running down that list - would be a major cause of my fear.
How am I going to get all of this done? And what is most important? How do I prioritize all of this? There are only 24 hours in the day! There’s no way I am going to be able to get all of this done by the time God tells me to get started with this conquering.
See, we cause ourselves anxiety and fear by first, not trusting God to take care of the details, and second, not asking for help from other people. We see ourselves as perfectionists and we want people to think we are strong and capable so we try to take on all of the responsibility ourselves. That way, when the mission is accomplished, we are the only ones getting a pat on the back and an “atta-boy.” We get to talk about HOW HARD we worked and WHAT A PAIN IN THE NECK this is. Does anybody know somebody like that?
If God knows your end from your beginning, and knows the objective that He wants you to achieve, don’t you think He will give you the tools to make it happen? You have to trust him even if you are terrified! And make sure that you are working on GOD’S objective and not your own!
Fortunately, while God knew the objective, he also knew the ORGANIZATION. He knew that Jacob had some good people around him to help him accomplish his mission. God had put officers in place that Jacob could trust and rely on. That’s a good thing, right?
Well, God told Joshua to be strong and courageous because not everybody was going to be a perfect soldier. Turn with me to Joshua 7:1-5 “But Israel violated the instructions about the things set apart for the LORD.[a] A man named Achan had stolen some of these dedicated things, so the LORD was very angry with the Israelites. Achan was the son of Carmi, a descendant of Zimri[b] son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah.
Joshua sent some of his men from Jericho to spy out the town of Ai, east of Bethel, near Beth-aven. 3 When they returned, they told Joshua, “There’s no need for all of us to go up there; it won’t take more than two or three thousand men to attack Ai. Since there are so few of them, don’t make all our people struggle to go up there.”
4 So approximately 3,000 warriors were sent, but they were soundly defeated. The men of Ai 5 chased the Israelites from the town gate as far as the quarries,[c] and they killed about thirty-six who were retreating down the slope. The Israelites were paralyzed with fear at this turn of events, and their courage melted away.
The Lord told Joshua that one of his troops had sinned and broken His covenant by stealing some of the things that He commanded must be set apart for Himself. He told Joshua to have the people purify themselves and be prepared to present themselves to him by tribe, clan, and family.
The Lord revealed that it was Achan who had stolen the items, and he confessed to Joshua. Joshua sent some men to search, and they found the stolen goods hidden in Achan’s tent. They took the things from the tent and presented them to Joshua in the presence of the Lord.
Let’s pick back up in Joshua 7:24 = “Then Joshua and all the Israelites took Achan, the silver, the robe, the bar of gold, his sons, daughters, cattle, donkeys, sheep, goats, tent, and everything he had, and they brought them to the valley of Achor. 25 Then Joshua said to Achan, “Why have you brought trouble on us? The LORD will now bring trouble on you.” And all the Israelites stoned Achan and his family and burned their bodies. 26 They piled a great heap of stones over Achan, which remains to this day. That is why the place has been called the Valley of Trouble[g] ever since. So the LORD was no longer angry.”
And Joshua 8:1 – “Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid or discouraged. Take all your fighting men and attack Ai, for I have given you the king of Ai, his people, his town, and his land.”
So after God took care of the problem, he once again told Joshua not to be afraid or discouraged. God knew the organization – knew that there would be good people that would help the mission, and bad people who would hinder the mission and cause Joshua to struggle and doubt.
If God knows your end from your beginning, and tells you to trust Him, don’t you think he will take care of the people who are hindering the mission He has given you? Not your OWN mission, mind you! You aren’t going to get help with your OWN mission. Follow God and He will take care of you. Trust Him even if you are terrified!
In this command to fight for the Promised Land, God knew that Joshua and his people would face OBJECTIONS. Any time we are trying to conquer a new area, we are going to face objection from others. New level, new Devil. But we sure can be afraid of that new Devil, aren’t we?
Look at Joshua 9. While you are finding it, I want to read Numbers 33:51-52: “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel: When you cross the Jordan River into the land of Canaan, you must drive out all the people living there. You must destroy all their carved and molten images and demolish all their pagan shrines. Take possession f the land and settle in it, because I have given it to you to occupy.”
So God told them to destroy everything so that there would be no chance of false idol worship sneaking its way back into the Israelite nation. In Joshua 9, we learn that Joshua’s armies had defeated every city they had come across so far, and the ones who were left decided to join forces to fight as one against the Israelites. Except for Gibeon.
Starting in verse 3 – “ But when the people of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, 4 they resorted to deception to save themselves. They sent ambassadors to Joshua, loading their donkeys with weathered saddlebags and old, patched wineskins. 5 They put on worn-out, patched sandals and ragged clothes. And the bread they took with them was dry and moldy. 6 When they arrived at the camp of Israel at Gilgal, they told Joshua and the men of Israel, “We have come from a distant land to ask you to make a peace treaty with us.”
7 The Israelites replied to these Hivites, “How do we know you don’t live nearby? For if you do, we cannot make a treaty with you.”
8 They replied, “We are your servants.”
“But who are you?” Joshua demanded. “Where do you come from?”
9 They answered, “Your servants have come from a very distant country. We have heard of the might of the LORD your God and of all he did in Egypt. 10 We have also heard what he did to the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River—King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan (who lived in Ashtaroth). 11 So our elders and all our people instructed us, ‘Take supplies for a long journey. Go meet with the people of Israel and tell them, “We are your servants; please make a treaty with us.’”
This bread was hot from the ovens when we left our homes. But now, as you can see, it is dry and moldy. 13 These wineskins were new when we filled them, but now they are old and split open. And our clothing and sandals are worn out from our very long journey.”
14 So the Israelites examined their food, but they did not consult the LORD.15 Then Joshua made a peace treaty with them and guaranteed their safety, and the leaders of the community ratified their agreement with a binding oath.
16 Three days after making the treaty, they learned that these people actually lived nearby!”
The Israelites set out at once to investigate and reached their towns in three days. The names of these towns were Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim. 18 But the Israelites did not attack the towns, for the Israelite leaders had made a vow to them in the name of the LORD, the God of Israel.
The people of Israel grumbled against their leaders because of the treaty.19 But the leaders replied, “Since we have sworn an oath in the presence of the LORD, the God of Israel, we cannot touch them. 20 This is what we must do. We must let them live, for divine anger would come upon us if we broke our oath. 21 Let them live.” So they made them woodcutters and water carriers for the entire community, as the Israelite leaders directed.”
His first mistake was even considering straying from the command of the Lord to conquer every nation. His second mistake was not consulting the Lord when he even THOUGHT about straying from his mission. So Joshua was deceived. In Chapter 10, we learn that because of this treaty, Joshua had to pull back from his forward movement to return and fight 5 Amorite kings who had attacked the Gibeonites.
Do you think this surprised God? The God who knows our end from our beginning? Not at all. We are only human, and when God gives humans the tasks that He expects us to accomplish, he knows that our nature will probably get in the way at some point.
God knew that those kings were going to object to the Israelites when they tried to conquer their land, and he knew that the Gibeonites would be afraid and deceive Joshua.
So did he say, “THAT’S IT! I AM DONE WITH JOSHUA AND THESE DISOBEDIENT ISRAELITES! I AM GOING TO FIND SOMEBODY ELSE TO CONQUER THIS PROMISED LAND!?” No, he didn’t. He continued to protect them and help them win their battles. Do you know why?
Because God knew the OPPORTUNITIES. He knew that taking His people to the Promised Land would give them all of the opportunity they needed to thrive and grow as a nation. It was a “bountiful country- a land flowing with milk and honey,” (Numbers 13:27)
They had “cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes so large that it took two of them to carry it on a pole between them. They also brought back samples of the pomegranates and figs.” (numb 13:23) And Joshua 1:13, Joshua told the Israelites that the Promised Land was “a place of rest that God was giving them.”
Wow – what a picture! What a blessing the Israelites were going to receive! But in order to get there, they were going to have to fight and overcome their fears so they could live in this land of blessings under God’s protection forever.
So God knew that Joshua would face fear when he was getting there, even if Joshua didn’t express it. God was preparing him to trust him and rely on him, even when he was terrified. What did God tell him to do so that he could overcome his fears?
The answer is in Joshua 1:7-8, “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. 8 Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.”
First, obey Moses. Listen to everything he told you to do when you were studying under him. In other words, learn from people who have gone before you. When we are trying to overcome our own fears, doesn’t it help us to remember things we were told in the past?
When you were afraid of monsters, who told you that they didn’t exist? Your parents, I hope. They would look under the bed and in the closets to show you that there was no boogeyman hiding there. Then, later, when you were afraid again, you could be confident that your fears were unfounded because somebody had already shown you that there was no reason to be afraid.
Now, as an adult, when you are afraid of something, like, public speaking – you can learn techniques from others about breathing, focusing on one spot in the background, or even picturing your audience naked. There is a wealth of information about how to overcome this fear, which, I am told, is the #1 fear of Americans. But, like Joshua learned from Moses, you can learn from somebody who has been there and done that.
Secondly, God tells Jacob “do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left.” You have to KNOW YOUR GOAL and focus on the end result.
Remember earlier when we talked about making a list of priorities to accomplish a task? How Joshua might be thinking about weapons, and food, and women & children, and livestock and all of the stuff that goes into conquering a territory? What does your list look like when you are conquering a territory?
Let’s say, for instance, that you want to clean out your garage by the end of the day because you are getting a shiny new car tomorrow and you need to have a place for it out of the elements. On your list might be purchasing containers to store your things in an organized way. Then you might want to create 3 areas on your lawn – one for trash, one for things you can donate to Goodwill, and one for things you want to keep. Then you know you need to build shelves to store your tools and boxes of important garage stuff.
But then somebody asks you if you want to go to the Dairy Queen. I am a sucker for Dariy Queen. Dairy Queen will always get me sidetracked. But I know that a trip there will take me a good hour or so, and daylight is burning. Remember, I am getting my new car tomorrow, and this garage hasn’t been cleaned out since we moved in. God only knows what I am going to find in there.
If I focus on my end result, because I know my goal, I don’t go to the Dairy Queen. (Instead, I give somebody money to bring me back a Blizzard and I keep cleaning out the garage – then I have a treat for a job well done!)
The third thing God tells Jacob to do is to “Study this Book of Instruction continually and meditate on it day and night.” Why does He tell him to do that? And how is he supposed to do that with all of the other stuff he has to do!? I mean, HE IS A CONQUEROR, NOT A STUDY-ER!
You might say, “I am a machinist, not a study-er.” Or “I am a bus driver, not a study-er.” Or “I am a full-time parent, not a study-er.” Who has time for that?!
In a practical way, there was a lot of war strategy written in that book of instruction, and Joshua was going to need to know that stuff. Isn’t that why we read it? Because we are fighting a war and need to know practical ways to conquer our enemy?
More importantly, it would keep Joshua close to God. It would keep God’s statutes and commands always on his mind and help him when making decisions. Wouldn’t you agree that the decision-making process of a Christian should be a bit different from a non-Christian? When we study the Bible, it guides us to know the decision that God would want us to make, to bring Him honor and advance His kingdom. It takes our eyes off of ourselves and helps us to focus on the needs of others.
God even promises Joshua that if he does study His word and meditate on it, he will prosper and succeed in everything he does. Doesn’t he promise the same to us? I don’t understand Christians who don’t read their bible regularly. I mean, surely you can find 15 minutes or ½ hour to focus your attention on God. I am not trying to condemn anybody, but dirty dishes in the sink or crumbs on the carpet can wait if that’s the only time you can carve out.
We shouldn’t look at Bible reading like a chore – like going to the gym or working on the car. It should be the first thing you schedule every day. It is time for your refreshment and for building up your soul! Studying the bible helps you to accomplish every other task you have ahead of you that day. With joy. How can we afford NOT to spend time in the Word?
Anyway, the last thing I will talk about as far as instruction for overcoming our fears is to PREPARE YOURSELF. In verse 11, Joshua commanded the officers of Israel to “Go through the camp and tell the people to get their provisions ready.” They had to prepare for their journey.
Let’s go back to the public speaking fear. If you knew you had to give a presentation to, let’s say, 100 people and you were terrified, what would you do? After, of course, you exhausted all of your efforts to find somebody else to do it…I assume you would practice! You would make sure all of your facts were correct, you might even go scope out the room, you might ask somebody you loved and trusted to sit in the front row.
What if you were afraid to fly? You might go on the internet to learn some coping techniques, talk to others with the same fear, or even go to the doctor for some valium! The point is, you would prepare.
God wants us to trust Him when we are terrified. He wants us to be strong and courageous as we head out to fight our battles and conquer our enemies every day. He promises us that He will never leave us or forsake us, and that He will be with us every step of the way.
He is with us in the advice we get from others; He is with us to help us focus on the end result of the tasks He has given us to accomplish; He is with us when we study His word and He gives us revelation to help us when we are afraid; and He is with us in the preparation so we can FEEL confident and comfortable when we are outside our element.
It’s OK to be terrified, as long as that terror turns to trust in the God who promises to keep you safe. Let’s pray:
Heavenly Father, thank you for Your Word that gives us instruction on how to live a holy life. That tells us how much you love us and care for us and fight for us and protect us. Father, we believe – help our unbelief. When our flesh feels terror, remind us that YOU ARE THERE and we have nothing to fear. Help us to trust you when we are terrified, because if you bring us to it, you will bring us through it. We love you, Lord, and believe in your promises. And all God’s children said – AMEN!
