A Bible Study
Have there been times in your life when God asked you to take on an assignment you were afraid to tackle? You know God is calling you to it, but you quake with fear at the thought of this new territory with which you have no experience. You long to move forward in faith, but you freeze in fear.
Joshua must have felt that way when God called him to step into the shoes of Moses and lead the Israelites into the Promised Land. Joshua relied on Moses and his instructions during their journey from Egypt. Joshua trusted the prayers of Moses while he fought and won battles for the Israelites while they wandered in the wilderness. But Moses died and now Joshua is called to lead a nation into a land where there would be conflict. Now Joshua had to trust his relationship with God. Now Joshua had to trust that he could hear God’s voice giving him direction. It is scary business when you must step up and trust God for yourself. Like us, Joshua faced uncertain events, but God sent word to encourage Joshua just like He give us His word today to encourage us. God desired for Joshua to trust Him, and He commanded Joshua to be courageous.
Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go, Joshua 1:7-9, NIV.
Joshua needed to keep God’s word close to his heart. We read in the verses above, Joshua was commanded to study the Book of the Law, to memorize it, to repeat it to others in appropriate ways and in the appropriate time. Joshua was to think about God and His word more than he thought about his personal fears or the enemies he had to face. God knew this was an important part of Joshua gaining the victory over his fears and moving out in faith into this new leadership role. This exercise of faith on Joshua’s part would prove key to his giving guidance to the people of God and to their victory over the towering city of Jericho.
God stressed how important meditating on His word would be because the words we bury in our hearts determine whether our outlook will be one of belief and faith or one of doubt and fear.
Our response to fear may be like the Israelites’ response as they were entering the Promised Land. “There are giants in the land. We can’t take those cities. The enemy is too strong.” We may use fearful, doubtful, or worrisome words as we express our hearts to God. When we chose to speak fear-filled words instead of God’s promise over our situation our fears grow, and we begin to quake in their presence. This overwhelms our hearts with doubt so that those amplified fears become like walled cities that mock us and hold us hostage to their abuse.
But Joshua chose to believe the word of God. God promised these chosen people victory. God promises us victory too. All we need to do is what God asked the Israelites to do: trust what He said and obey what He commanded.
Fear is not definitive. God’s word is greater than our fears.
Like Joshua, our path to success begins when we believe God and trust His promises. It moves us forward when we face our difficulties and fears with courage knowing God is with us. It flourishes under our feet as we take the right action-steps toward fulfilling our God-given purpose.
Some of my best memories are of myself and a friend walking together through our neighborhood. We didn’t have a destination in mind; we enjoyed the conversation and the journey as we talked through our problems and laughed at our flaws. One day, we were enjoying our time together so much we took a turn down a road we weren’t familiar with and it seemed scary. But we had each other, and we guided one another back to the safety of our familiar path.
In our walk of faith, the path we take and the company we keep makes all the difference. We choose our journey to failure or to success by whether we walk with unbelief and fear, or whether we walk with God in belief and faith.
Sometimes the path of belief and faith looks scary because it is not a familiar trail. Has God has asked you to change jobs and your finances say, “No”? Is He leading you to become involved in a community of believers, but you’re fearful of leaving the friends you’ve worshipped with for years? Is He desiring to work in the hearts of your husband or children, but you keep getting in the way because you’re worried you might lose them? Trust God. This scary path of belief and faith leads to the fulfillment of His promises for us and an abundant life when we choose to trust Him over our circumstances.
Dig a Little Deeper
- Is God calling you to step up, but you are frozen in fear?
- What promises has God made to you?
- How can you use these passages in Joshua 1:7-9 to prepare your heart to conquer your fears?
- What is something different you would do if you conquered your fear and believed God’s promises to you?
Prayer
Father, I ask You to help me step out in faith when You speak to my heart. Give me the grace to trust Your Word over my self-doubt and fear. Thank You for the victory You have given me through Jesus, Your Son. I believe I can trust your promises, but like Joshua, fear tries to fill my heart and drive me to unbelief. Help me, Lord, to be filled with faith according to Your will and for Your purpose. In Jesus’ Name, I pray.
Amen.
We definitely do need to remember to speak God’s promises over our situation instead of listening to fear.
Yes, remembering to speak those promises is key to building up our most holy faith. Practice, practice, practice. Then it will be our first response to squelch the voice of the enemy.
“Joshua chose to believe the Lord.” That sounds so simple, but yet we struggle with that, don’t we? You’ve done such a wonderful job of guiding us to examine and face our fears and then put our trust in the Lord. Thanks for this challenging and inspiring message, Carla.
Hi Katherine, Yes, we do struggle with believing. Yet, even in that He’s gracious to help us. Remember the man who requested healing for his child, and he said, “I believe, but Lord, help me with mine unbelief.” He moves when we are authentic in our relationship with Him. He is amazing! Don’t you just love Him today?
Carla, your post so clearly illustrates the way fear paralyzes forward movement in our obedience to God. I love your description of walking with your friend and how you enjoyed it without knowing a destination. I needed to read this today.
Hi Jeannie, Thank you for your comments. I’m so glad God walks and talks with us. Our path is not aimless, but directed as we acknowledge Him (Prov. 3:5-6).
Thank you for these beautiful, practical insights, Carla. I want my mind to be filled with the character of God more than my fears. What a great thing to remember!
Thank you, Katy. The enemy tries to stop God’s work through fear (among other tactics). We, as God’s beloved, need to understand where it comes from and how to defeat those defeating thoughts.