NOTHING TO FEAR BUT FEAR

Joshua 3     

            Joshua and the Israelites were camped on the east banks of the Jordan River looking across into the promised land of Canaan.  Soon God would call them to cross over.  Perhaps the Hebrews felt a particular fear about crossing over the river because of what their parents had heard from the spies who had scoped out Canaan all those years before.  The stories about giants and fortified cities must have lived on.  Maybe there were many of them who were very afraid of the dangers that lay ahead of them in the Promised Land.  But the fact of the matter is, just because something is unknown does not make it more dangerous!  Would Canaan be any more dangerous than the wilderness in which they had been wandering for all those years?  It was only more dangerous in the imaginations of the doubters and the faithless.  God had been with them all their lives.  He had been guiding them, protecting them, and providing for them.  He had already said he would go with them into Canaan.  So how could it be more dangerous? 

            Do we fear the unknown?  Do we wonder about the new dangers we don’t even know about?  Do we think that stepping out into the darkness is any more dangerous than what we have already known?  It does no good to fear.  Fear of the unknown will do nothing to diminish whatever danger might be out there.  But what it will do is diminish faith.  It will diminish our effectiveness.  When fear is given its way people shy away and hesitate to try new things.  When fear gains control then our minds and hearts are focused on the fear instead of on God.  Think about the Hebrews again.  If they had stayed on the east side of the Jordan they never would have accomplished anything for God and his kingdom.  Even if they stayed east of the river it would do nothing to diminish the dangers on the west side.  Those things would all remain the same.  The only thing that would be changed is that they would never know what was over the river and they would have failed to do what God wanted them to do.  The same is true for us.  If we don’t step out in faith then we won’t accomplish the things God has for us to do.  The fears will be the same and the dangers will be the same but nothing will be done for God.

            When we face the unknown with all its fears, risks, and dangers, we need to remember that God is faithful.  We may shudder in fear and anxiety but God never changes and he never fails to care for his people.  Think of it this way.  He has helped us this far.  He has helped us carry our present crosses.  He has brought us through every previously unknown situation to this day.  There once was a time when our present burdens were nothing more than unknown dangers.  They were once new and frightening but God helped us adjust to them and showed us the way to bear them.  When the Israelites came out of Egypt they were not adept at living in the desert.  They were city folks.  But God was with them and enabled them to adjust to their new lifestyles.  He proved himself faithful.  Hasn’t God proved himself faithful to us?  If God is faithful then what do we have to fear?

            There is yet one more way to look at the problem of the unknown and its risks and dangers.  The very fact that we are facing the unknown demonstrates that we have been making progress.  Progress, by definition, means change.  If we make progress then we will face new situations, new difficulties, and new trials.  For example, if Israel had not made progress through the wilderness they would never have reached their present location on the banks of the Jordan River.  If we want to make progress then we must come to expect unknown and new trials. 

            But here is the good news.  New trials generally end the old ones.  The Israelites came out of the desert.  That must have been a glorious day for them!  Imagine leaving behind the devastating heat and dryness of the desert and walking into the lush greenery along the river!  At the same time they were moving toward the unknown with its new dangers and difficulties!  The desert troubles came to an end while the Canaan problems were just beginning! 

            So it is with our lives and our ministries.  As we make progress in our faith we win victories over the struggles we encounter only to meet up with new struggles.  Our young church overcomes hurdles only to face new hurdles.  This is true for students who conquer one grade only to move on to the next, more challenging grade.  Elementary school to middle school; middle school to high school; high school to work or college.  Young people move from one place in their relationship toward marriage and its unknown trials.  Marriages move along and children are born.  People become Christians and grow in faith only to find that there are new trials ahead of them.  This is progress and God is with us every step of the way.