Prayer Tip--Paralyzed by Fear a Mile from the Promised Land
Daily Scripture
Numbers 13:1, 25, 27-28, 30-33 (CEB)
The LORD spoke to Moses: Send out men to explore the land of Canaan, which I’m giving to the Israelites… They returned from exploring the land after forty days… they gave their report: “We entered the land to which you sent us. It’s actually full of milk and honey… There are, however, powerful people who live in the land. The cities have huge fortifications”… Caleb calmed the people before Moses and said, “We must go up and take possession of it, because we are more than able to do it.” But the men who went up with him said, “We can’t go up against the people because they are stronger than we.” They started a rumor about the land that they had explored, telling the Israelites, “The land that we crossed over to explore is a land that devours its residents. All the people we saw in it are huge men. We saw there the Nephilim (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We saw ourselves as grasshoppers, and that’s how we appeared to them.”
Daily Reflection & Prayer
What great thing would you do if you knew you could not fail?
This question was originally posed in Robert H. Schuller’s book You Can Become the Person You Want To Be and it is one my wonderful friend Sherry Danner posed to another friend recently who was debating taking on a great new challenge.
So many times fear keeps us in a small box and leads to small living. People stay in jobs they dislike because they are afraid of trying a new career. Some stay in abusive relationships because the fear of being alone is too great. Sometimes we avoid going to the doctor because we fear the diagnosis. Fear makes us think irrationally and isolates us. Left unchecked it can paralyze and immobilize us.
We weren’t created to live in a constant state of fear. Joshua 1:9 says, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Spend some time in prayer with God asking what great thing he is calling you to do. Then trust in him to give you the strength to do it.
Prayer
Lord, sometimes I feel small and scared and the world seems like a frightening place. This makes it hard to leave my place of comfort to step out to new challenges, but I know that is what you call me to do. Please give me strength of mind to rise to your challenges. Please help me connect with people in my community who can help support and encourage me to live the bold life you call me to live. Amen.
GPS Insights
Angela LaVallie Tinsley
This week's prayer tip is by Angela LaVallie Tinsley. Angela now lives in her home state of Indiana, but when she wrote this prayer tip in 2017 she served leading Resurrection's facilities ministry.
