Be Scared and Do It Anyway

Overcoming Fear, Part 2

Scripture: Judges 6:11–16 | Psalm 56:3–4

“The LORD is with you, O valiant warrior.” — Judges 6:12 (NASB1995)

There are times in life when the adversary seems bigger than anything we could possibly overcome.

The struggle is real. The pain is real. The uncertainty of what comes next is real. And sometimes, our first response is to run and hide.

That's where we find Gideon.

The Midianites had been coming against Israel for years. They would come in, destroy their crops, take their animals, and leave the people struggling to survive. Israel had become so afraid of the enemy that they were hiding in caves and strongholds.

And Gideon was no different.

When the angel of the Lord found him, Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress.

Now, that's not where you're supposed to thresh wheat! You need open space and wind to help separate the wheat from the chaff. But Gideon was hiding, trying to save whatever little bit he could from the Midianites.

He was working hard, doing the best he knew to do, but he was doing it in a place that wasn't designed for what he needed.

And I wonder how many of us are living that same way.

We're working hard. We're trying to make things happen. We're doing everything we know to do, but fear has pushed us into places where we were never intended to live.

We're shrinking our lives just to avoid facing whatever it is that scares us.

But look at what the Lord says to Gideon.

“The LORD is with you, O valiant warrior.”

What about Gideon looked like a mighty warrior?

He's hiding! He's trying to save enough wheat to make some bread, and the Lord shows up and calls him a valiant warrior.

Gideon begins asking questions. If the Lord is with us, why has all this happened? Where are the miracles we've heard about? Why has God allowed Midian to do this to us?

And the Lord tells him to go and deliver Israel.

Gideon's response is essentially, How am I supposed to do that?

I'm the least in my family. My family is the least in Manasseh. Who am I to stand against Midian?

But Gideon was overlooking the most important part of what the Lord had said.

The Lord is WITH you.

That's where our confidence must come from.

The Lord wasn't telling Gideon that the Midianites weren't dangerous. He wasn't telling him there wouldn't be a battle. And He wasn't suggesting Gideon had enough strength in himself to accomplish this.

He was telling Gideon that he wouldn't have to face it alone.

Church, sometimes we spend so much time looking at what's standing against us that we forget who's standing with us.

And when we truly recognize who the Lord is, everything begins to look different.

Not because the adversary suddenly disappears.

Not because the struggle becomes easy.

Not because everything starts going according to our plans.

Don't get so concerned about following your plan that you forget the importance of following God.

Yes, make plans. Yes, prepare. Yes, do the work.

But above everything else, stay with the Lord.

Sometimes everything you're afraid might happen really does happen.

Things go wrong. People disappoint us. Sickness comes. We experience loss. Plans fall apart.

And I would never tell you those things don't hurt.

Death is hard. Grief is heavy. There are days when you don't want to walk into the next room because something there might remind you of what you've lost.

I understand that.

But we cannot allow yesterday's hurt to become the boundary of tomorrow's living.

We cannot keep shrinking our lives because we're afraid of what we might have to face.

The mission isn't finished.

There are still people to love, people to reach, and opportunities to serve. There are things the Lord has placed before us that require us to trust Him beyond what we can see or control.

That's why David's words in Psalm 56:3 are so meaningful:

“When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You.”

Notice, he didn't say, When I'm no longer afraid.

He said, When I am afraid.

Faith doesn't mean the fear was never there.

Faith means that even while the fear is present, I choose to trust the Lord.

And that's the challenge I want to leave with you today.

Whatever it is that's been holding you back, whatever has caused you to retreat, whatever has made you afraid to take the next step, don't forget who is with you.

You may still be nervous. You may still feel inadequate. You may still have questions about how everything is going to work.

But if the Lord has called you to it, take the next step in obedience.

You don't have to see the whole road to take that first step.

And that first step may be all you have the strength to take today.

Take it anyway.

Because when we begin to recognize the Lord who is with us, the adversary no longer gets to determine how we live.

The enemy may still be standing there. But when we see the Lord, everything changes.

So be nervous. Be scared if you must.

Trust the Lord.     Be scared And do it anyway.

A Prayer for Today

Father, forgive us for the times we've allowed fear to determine how we live. We confess that sometimes we see our struggles more clearly than we recognize Your presence. Help us remember that You are with us, even when the circumstances haven't changed. Give us the faith to trust Your Word, the courage to obey Your calling, and the willingness to take the next step. Keep us from hiding when You've called us to serve. May our lives bring glory to You. In Jesus' name, amen.

A Question to Consider: What has fear caused you to avoid, and what is one step of obedience you can take today, trusting that the Lord is with you?