Fear
Daily Scripture
Judges 6:11-16, 1 Kings 19:2-14, 2 Timothy 1:7, Hebrews 2:14-15
Judges 6
11 Then the LORD’s messenger came and sat under the oak at Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite. His son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to hide it from the Midianites. 12 The LORD’s messenger appeared to him and said, “The LORD is with you, mighty warrior!”
13 But Gideon replied to him, “With all due respect, my Lord, if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his amazing works that our ancestors recounted to us, saying, ‘Didn’t the LORD bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the LORD has abandoned us and allowed Midian to overpower us.”
14 Then the LORD turned to him and said, “You have strength, so go and rescue Israel from the power of Midian. Am I not personally sending you?”
15 But again Gideon said to him, “With all due respect, my Lord, how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I’m the youngest in my household.”
16 The LORD replied, “Because I’m with you, you’ll defeat the Midianites as if they were just one person.”
1 Kings 19
2 Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah with this message: “May the gods do whatever they want to me if by this time tomorrow I haven’t made your life like the life of one of them.”
He arrived at Beer-sheba in Judah and left his assistant there. 4 He himself went farther on into the desert a day’s journey. He finally sat down under a solitary broom bush. He longed for his own death: “It’s more than enough, LORD! Take my life because I’m no better than my ancestors.” 5 He lay down and slept under the solitary broom bush.
Then suddenly a messenger tapped him and said to him, “Get up! Eat something!” 6 Elijah opened his eyes and saw flatbread baked on glowing coals and a jar of water right by his head. He ate and drank, and then went back to sleep. 7 The LORD’s messenger returned a second time and tapped him. “Get up!” the messenger said. “Eat something, because you have a difficult road ahead of you.” 8 Elijah got up, ate and drank, and went refreshed by that food for forty days and nights until he arrived at Horeb, God’s mountain. 9 There he went into a cave and spent the night.
The LORD’s word came to him and said, “Why are you here, Elijah?”
10 Elijah replied, “I’ve been very passionate for the LORD God of heavenly forces because the Israelites have abandoned your covenant. They have torn down your altars, and they have murdered your prophets with the sword. I’m the only one left, and now they want to take my life too!”
11 The LORD said, “Go out and stand at the mountain before the LORD. The LORD is passing by.” A very strong wind tore through the mountains and broke apart the stones before the LORD. But the LORD wasn’t in the wind. After the wind, there was an earthquake. But the LORD wasn’t in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake, there was a fire. But the LORD wasn’t in the fire. After the fire, there was a sound. Thin. Quiet. 13 When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his coat. He went out and stood at the cave’s entrance. A voice came to him and said, “Why are you here, Elijah?”
14 He said, “I’ve been very passionate for the LORD God of heavenly forces because the Israelites have abandoned your covenant. They have torn down your altars, and they have murdered your prophets with the sword. I’m the only one left, and now they want to take my life too.”
2 Timothy 1
7 God didn’t give us a spirit that is timid but one that is powerful, loving, and self-controlled.
Hebrews 2
14 Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, he also shared the same things in the same way. He did this to destroy the one who holds the power over death—the devil—by dying. 15 He set free those who were held in slavery their entire lives by their fear of death.
Daily Reflection & Prayer
Fear is usually anxiety shifted into the present tense. In this broken world, we have to face real dangers in various ways. Gideon hid in a winepress to thresh wheat because the Midianites were really stealing Israelite crops. Ruthless queen Jezebel actively threatened the prophet Elijah’s life. Yet even in the ominous atmosphere of the Roman Empire, the apostles encouraged Christians to live above fear in the light of Jesus’ victory over death itself.
- Overwhelmed by fear after the queen’s threat on his life, Elijah prayed, “It’s more than enough, LORD! Take my life because I’m no better than my ancestors.” God gave us a good model for how to help someone gripped by fear by sending a messenger who brought food, rest and caring rather than scolding. How has God, directly or through people, supported you when you have needed it? How can you best help someone else who is struggling with fear?
- For Elijah, Jesus’ resurrection was a distant promise. But Jesus’ words and actions convinced the early Christians that even Rome’s violent threats couldn’t do them lasting harm. Jesus had clearly shown that he IS “the resurrection and the life.” Christians changed the world by living beyond the natural fear of death. In what ways have you found Jesus powerfully real, not erasing your feelings, but giving you confidence in God’s ultimate victory over pain, grief, and death?
Prayer
Lord God, weave your reality into the fabric of my life. Empower me to trustingly pray Julian of Norwich’s beautiful prayer: “All shall be well, and all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well.” Amen.
GPS Insights
Darren Lippe
Darren Lippe, who serves as a Couples Small Group co-leader & Men's Group Leader, while volunteering in a variety of other capacities at Resurrection, wrote today’s Insights. He and his wife, Doris, first met in a Resurrection Single Adult Sunday School class in 1997 and were married in what is now the Student Center. They are empty nesters with 2 college-aged sons, Matthew and Jacob.
Considering today’s theme of fear, I couldn’t help but think of the Christian Missionary, Mary Slessor, a.k.a. “Ma of Calabar.” *
Aside: The only thing flat-earthers fear is sphere itself
As a little girl growing up in Scotland in the mid-1800s, Mary felt a powerful call to go to Calabar (now known as Nigeria) to help God’s children. Her childhood was extremely challenging–she served as main breadwinner for her Mother & siblings & worked in a factory 12-hours/day, 6 days a week. The only bright spot of her week was worship & church meetings.
Aside: A friend has a great fear of elevators, so he’s taking steps to avoid them
As she grew, Mary became a passionate evangelist. She would visit the tenements of her tiny village each Sunday afternoon, seeking children to join her at evening meetings for games & worship. One rough lad wouldn’t attend, because he said that his father would whip him if he dared to enter a church. Mary replied, “I’ll go home with you & tell your father to whip me instead.” The boy was stunned & converted to Christ that evening.
Aside: I have a fear of German sausage. I think it’s the wurst.
Despite reports of great dangers from warring tribes & fatal diseases, Mary sets sail for Calabar at the age of 28. (The ship was also carrying casks of liquor to the West Coast of Africa. She noted, “So many casks & only one missionary.”) Mary arrives in Calabar & realizes the reports from Calabar under-reported the dire conditions. Mary quickly learned the tribal languages & during nearly 40-years of ministry she focused on rustic tribal regions further & further inland. Here are a few highlights of her ministry:
- She adopted hundreds of orphans. (Many were twins, who local tribes believed were cursed & would be abandoned in the jungle at birth.) To care for all the children, she rigged her hut with ropes & pulleys so she could gently rock the hammocks to put her children back to sleep.
- She “negotiated” many peace settlements between warring tribes. (She would sit under a tree, pour tea for the quarrelling chiefs, & knit while they discussed their disagreement. After several hours, the talk wore out the chiefs & and they’d agree to peacefully settle their differences.)
- She healed the sick, one time walking 8 hours barefoot through a monsoon to heal a great chief. The villagers cheered, since many of them would have been put to death to serve as the chief’s attendants in the afterlife. Mary gave all glory to the Great Healer, Jesus Christ.
- Established dozens of churches & multiple Christian schools.
- Negotiated trade agreements between the various tribes to help divert the warriors from constantly preparing for war.
- Throughout the 40-years, she constantly battled illnesses, like malaria, that, in her later years, forced her to be transported via handcart.
Upon Mary’s passing, the following excerpt was offered as a eulogy: “She who loved us, who brought us healing, who brought us comfort, who brought the sunshine to our darkness. She has gone, dear white Mother, gone to the great hereafter. Living, she spent herself to help us, dying she found her rest among us. Let the lonely bush lie silent, silent with mighty sorrow.”
How did Mary face her fears so courageously? I believe her prayer as she arrived at Calabar offers us a hint; “Lord, the task is impossible for me but not for Thee. Lead the way & I will follow.” She encouraged herself by constantly praying, “Why should I fear? I am on a Royal Mission. I am in the service of the King of Kings.” What if we viewed our own lives as serving a Royal purpose of some sort & our lives being of great value to the King of Kings? When we realize we are never truly alone, it might just help put our fears in perspective.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I want to buy tickets for an upcoming Fear & Phobia Forum. (I think it is already sold out – Editor.) Ugh. I was afraid of that. – DL.
* Mary Slessor: Forward into Calabar, by Janet Benge
