How to overcome our fear by believing what God says about us

By Dean Collins

Even though Gideon had a visit with an angel, he still had to go through several interactions with God before he was willing fully to trust and obey.  I believe our confidence in God’s plan comes to us as we listen carefully and obey fully. And it may be that our path becomes clearer when someone partners with us.  That was certainly the case with Gideon.

Finally convinced

Gideon received his instructions directly from the angel. God demonstrated patience with Gideon and several times cooperated with Gideon’s need for reassurance. Remember the fleece?  The angel went along with Gideon’s request to wait while Gideon prepared a meal for the angel.  When Gideon returned with a meal he had prepared as a gift, he watched as the angel offered his gift as a sacrifice to God.

As Gideon proceeded in his journey to accept his assignment and embrace his identity as a leader, God sent another message with instructions. I would love it if God sent me an email or a PowerPoint presentation with the specifics, but that hasn’t happened for me yet! This time the Lord told Gideon, “If you are afraid to go down, then go down to the camp with Purah your servant.”  

When Gideon and Purah arrived at the camp to observe and listen to what was discussed around a campfire, they got the confirmation Gideon needed. As they overheard one of the soldiers share his dream with his fellow soldier, Gideon was mentioned by name. The enemy camp was already restless with the anticipation that God was with Gideon and that Gideon was a mighty leader! God was on board. The angel was on board. Purah was on board. And even the enemy was on board. Finally Gideon was convinced and ready to act.

Trusting God

I have so many memories of times in my life when I did not think I was the right person for an assignment. In those moments I often told myself I didn’t have the right training or educational background or experiences for the task before me. But honestly, I think I was mostly afraid of the challenge and thought if I accepted it, I would fail. That was what Gideon was thinking when the angel gave him his assignment from the Lord.

About 35 years ago in one of my times of doubt, uncertainty, and fear, one of my mentors made me memorize this verse: “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control” (‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭1‬:‭7‬ ‭).

For the next several weeks, every time I was faced with another challenge, I was instructed to repeat this verse to myself.  Before a particularly difficult conversation I was to have with someone who was more educated and experienced than I , my mentor told me to stand in front of a mirror and repeat the verse over and over.

Finally, I began to realize that God’s declaration about me was far more powerful than the scripts I had in my head about myself.

I was now prepared for the situation and ready for the assignment. Right before I was to take on my difficult task, another friend called and said, “I will go with you.”  He didn’t say anything in the meeting; he was simply there to encourage and support me.

The best I can tell, Purah didn’t have much to say to Gideon either, but having a trusted person with Gideon gave him the courage to face his fears and the conflict that was ahead.

Two steps

So today if you are feeling weak and uncertain about what God is calling you to do, there are two action steps you can take:

1) Read or memorize and declare out loud who God has declared you to be.

 “Greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world”
“I am a child of God”
“If God is for me, then who can be against me”
“For God did not give me a spirit of fear but of power and love and self-control”
“I know that he who began a good work in me will complete it”

2) Take a godly friend along with you to face your challenge.

Sometimes we need the encouragement of a friend in order to fully see and know the truth that God is with us.

Lord, forgive us for the times we have allowed fear to hinder our obedience. Forgive us for the times we have defaulted to our old scripts about ourselves instead of believing and acting on the truth you have declared over us. Today we will step into our assignments knowing that you are with us.  And Lord, if there is someone you want us to encourage or accompany so that they might know you are with them, prompt us to go.  In Jesus’ name, amen.

Your time with God’s Word
Judges‬ ‭7‬:‭9‬-‭25‬; 2 Timothy‬ ‭1‬:‭7‬ ‭ESV

Photo by Lisa Fotios at pexels.com
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