Don't Let Fear Hold You Back
Dear Friends,
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| Don't Let Fear Hold You Back |
Have you ever made excuses for not doing what God is asking of you?
If you have, you’re in good company. Today I want to look at the example of Moses. God has been teaching me so much through the life of Moses. I've been finding it both a challenge and an encouragement.
The Bible tells us that Moses’ parents knew God had a purpose for their son. I believe right from a young age, Moses knew that God had chosen him for a specific purpose. He had a heart for God’s people and identified himself with them.
One day when Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his relatives, the people of Israel. He saw an Egyptian mistreating an Israelite. So Moses came to the man’s defence and avenged him, killing the Egyptian. Moses assumed his fellow Israelites would realize that God had sent him to rescue them, but they didn’t. Acts 7:23-25 (NLT)
So Moses fled to the desert and after living there for forty years he encountered God, calling him from a burning bush.
In Chapters 3 & 4 of Exodus, we read about God calling Moses to save God’s people from slavery. But Moses’ automatic response is one of fear. He made various excuses as to why it shouldn’t be him. I believe there were three things which caused Moses to feel afraid.
1. Fear of Failure.
Moses was passionate about God’s calling on his life, however, when he tried to do something all those years back, it ended in failure, as we’ve already seen.
I believe he then allowed his mistake to define him. “I failed at what I did for God, therefore I am a failure.” Moses wasn’t a failure, but he allowed his actions to define him and they became his identity.
What about you? Would you define yourself as a failure? Have you stepped out for God, done what you believe God was calling you to do? Have you Followed the dream, the goal God had given you? Only to find that it’s failed and now you too think you’re a failure. Is your identity wrapped up in your mistakes and your mess?
I don’t believe Moses had got it wrong when it came to God’s plan for him, but I do believe that because he didn’t consult with God he acted at the wrong time and in the wrong way.
Perhaps that’s the way it is for you too? Perhaps you rushed to do something for God, before checking with him to see if it was the right time to act and because you didn't check with him perhaps you went about it the wrong way. But now, God is calling you, telling you that now is the time to act.
I think Moses’ mistakes led him to doubt himself and to lose his self-confidence. But I think deep down he did not lose the dream God had given him. Somewhere very deep down. And God needed to re-awaken it in him. God needed to reignite the fire. It's so easy for our confidence to take a nose-dive when things don't go the way we had planned or envisioned.
I wonder if, over the past forty years, Moses had felt abandoned by God? Yet God had never abandoned him. He’d been with him the whole time, using the desert as Moses’ training ground for when God’s time for him came. All Moses had been through, from the moment he was born was leading up to this.
God hadn’t given up on Moses, and he hasn’t given up on us either.
But Moses protested to God, “Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?” Exodus 3:11 (NLT)
Basically, he was saying, "I’m not good enough."
God’s Response to him was, “You may not feel like you are good enough, but tell them, I AM is sending you and I AM enough. You need only to rely on me."
God says the same to us. You and I may not feel we are enough when it comes to doing what he asks of us but GOD IS MORE THAN ENOUGH.
But Moses pleaded with the Lord, “O Lord, I’m not very good with words. I never have been, and I’m not now, even though you have spoken to me. I get tongue-tied, and my words get tangled.”
Then the Lord asked Moses, “Who makes a person’s mouth? Who decides whether people speak or do not speak, hear or do not hear, see or do not see? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go! I will be with you as you speak, and I will instruct you in what to say.” Exodus 4:10-12 (NLT)
Moses’ past had led him to lose confidence in himself but what he needed instead was a God-confidence. God was able to use Moses’ past mistakes, to teach him that it is not healthy to put all our confidence in self, rather our confidence needs to be in God. With God, we cannot fail.
Don’t let fear of failure stop you from doing what God is calling you to do.
2. Fear of what others will say.
But Moses protested again, “What if they won’t believe me or listen to me? What if they say, ‘The Lord never appeared to you’?” Exodus 4:1 (NLT)
But Moses protested again, “What if they won’t believe me or listen to me? What if they say, ‘The Lord never appeared to you’?” Exodus 4:1 (NLT)
Do you fear what others will say or think of you?
God tells Moses that if he just does what he tells him to do, then people will know. Moses needed to focus on what God was telling him to do, not on the opinion of others.
God tells us to do the same – to focus on him and what he asks of us instead of worrying about what others think of us. What he thinks is of far greater significance.
Don’t let fear of what others may think of you stop you from doing what God is calling you to do.
3. Fear of being the wrong person.
But Moses again pleaded, “Lord, please! Send anyone else.”Exodus 4:13 (NLT)
Moses was basically saying to God, “Anyone would do a better job than me. I’m not the right person for this. I don’t have what it takes.”
Moses was wrong – God hadn’t chosen someone else to rescue his people, he had chosen Moses because he knew Moses was the man for the job. God doesn’t make mistakes. He knows what he’s doing.
Do you ever think like Moses? Do you ever compare yourself with another and think – they would be so much better at it than I am?
If God wanted someone else to do what he is asking you to do, he would have chosen them instead. But he hasn’t, he’s chosen you and he’s chosen you for a reason. He knows that you and he together have got this.
If you think anyone else would do a better job than you – then, like Moses, you're wrong!
Don’t allow the comparisons you make between yourself and others stop you from doing what God is calling you to do.
To Think About:
Are one of the fears mentioned above holding you back from stepping into God's plan for your life? Or do you struggle with another fear?
When God calls you to do something, do you believe that he is more than enough to help you fulfil his purpose for you?
Do you focus more on what others think and say than on what God is calling you to do?
If you are someone who keeps comparing yourself with others, how can you stop this unhealthy way of thinking?
If you enjoyed reading this devotional blog, then you may like to know that I have two devotional books both of which are available to buy from Amazon. (The content of these books is material adapted from past blog posts.)
This is my latest book, published in November 2018.
"Dear Friend...52 Weekly Devotions to Encourage, Challenge and Inspire" Volume 2.
The book's format is the same as my first one with the added extra of room for journalling after each devotion. To learn more, click here
"Dear Friend... Vol 1 is available from Amazon as a paperback book and also to download on Kindle.
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