Recently I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and praying about fear and courage ~ as I overcome some of the things the enemy would put in the way of my obedience to God. He does that you know. He tries to stop us from fulfilling our God-given purpose by making us too afraid to take the steps of faith necessary to obey God’s call on our lives. In my search for freedom from the fear that was encumbering me, I came across an excerpt from a book I read many years ago. It so clearly describes the “monster” that fear becomes when we don’t, as the author said, “shine the light of words” on it. Actually ~ as believers we know that it is not only speaking the truth about our fear that breaks its power, it is shining the light of God’s Word into the darkness of fear and doubt that allows us to “be strong and courageous”!
A word about Fear
I must say a word about fear. It is life’s only true opponent. Only fear can defeat life. It is a cleaver, treacherous adversary, how well I know. It has no decency, respects no law or convention, shows no mercy. It goes for your weakest spot, which it finds with unerring ease. It begins in your mind, always. One moment you are feeling calm, self-possessed, happy. Then fear, disguised in the garb of mild-mannered doubt, slip into your mind like a spy. Doubt meets disbelief and disbelief tries to push it out. But disbelief is a poorly armed foot soldier. Doubt does away with it with little trouble. You become anxious. Reason comes to do battle for you. You are reassured. Reason is fully equipped with the latest weapons’ technology. But to your amazement, despite superior tactics and a number of undeniable victories, reason is laid low. You feel yourself weakening, wavering. Your anxiety becomes dread.
Fear next turns to your body, which is already aware that something terribly wrong is going on. Already your lungs have flown away like a bird and your guts have slithered away like a snake. Now your tongue drops dead like an opossum, while your jaw begins to gallop on the spot. Your ears go deaf. Your muscles begin to shiver as if they had malaria and your knees to shake as though they were dancing. Your heart strains too hard, while your sphincter relaxes too much. And so with the rest of your body. Every part of you, in the manner most suited to it, falls apart. Only your eyes work well. They always pay proper attention to fear.
Quickly you make rash decisions. You dismiss your last allies, hope and trust. There you’ve defeated yourself. Fear, which is but an impression, has triumphed over you.
The matter is difficult to put into words. for fear, real fear, such as shakes you to your foundation, such as you feel when you are brought face to face with your mortal end, nestles in your memory like a gangrene: it seeks to rot everything, even the words with which to speak of it. So you must fight hard to express it. You must fight hard to shine the light of words upon it. Because if you don’t, if your fear becomes a wordless darkness that you avoid, perhaps even manage to forget, you open yourself to further attacks of fear because you never truly fought the opponent who defeated you.
Yann Martel, Life of Pi, 2001
A word about Courage
“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear – not absence of fear.”
Mark Twain, US humorist, novelist, short story author, & wit (1835 – 1910)
“Courage is doing what you’re afraid to do. There can be no courage unless you’re scared.”
Eddie Rickenbacker, US WW1 aviator and businessman (1890 – 1973)
God’s Word about Fear and Change
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 of to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; 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 terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go. (Joshua 1:6-9 NIV)
Joshua said to them, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Be strong and courageous. This is what the LORD will do to all the enemies you are going to fight.” (Joshua 10:25 NIV)
Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. (Deuteronomy 31:6 NIV)
Courage – not the absence of fear, for without fear there is no reason for courage! God “commands” us to be strong and courageous. Don’t wait until you’re not afraid to take your next step of obedience! Let God prove Himself strong. Let Him give you all He promises when we trust and obey!
