There’s countless oddities about human nature but one that really perplexes me is fear. Specifically, being afraid of something versus being made scared. We like to be made scared but we don’t want to be afraid. Curious. In the U.S. we spend over a billion dollars a year on horror movies. We actually spend hard earned dollars to sit in a dark room and have someone concoct a terrifying story that will scare us. But yet in a bitter stroke of irony we want to feel safe and sound as we walk to our car after that terrifying movie. Americans also spend between 400-500 million dollars per year visiting haunted houses. The haunted attraction industry booms as people again pay good money for the opportunity to have someone else scare them; the results screams and panic. Yet in another dose of irony those same people will reel in fear as they watch the evening news, being told how much real danger society places them in. Even modern roller coasters and thrill rides continue to step up their game, bringing a level of fear and anxiety that petrifies. In fact, maybe I’m just getting old, but the last few I’ve ridden were in fact just that, downright petrifying. But there’s a big difference in being made scared versus living in fear. The prior can be prepared for and dealt with, the latter can dominate and enslave a life.
It’s rather odd how we view genuine fear today. If someone is afraid, timid, or just simply scared of something, we see it as a weakness. They’re a sissy. They’re not dealing with their problems head-on. They need to just man up and stop being scared. Being scared is OK in the theater when something scary pops up suddenly, but yet it’s not OK to be scared of something outside of the that theater. So, as we explore this idea of being afraid, this idea of living in fear, why don’t we delve in and see what God’s Word says about being scared.
We saw in Judges chapter 6, God’s selection of His next judge Gideon. Gideon is a timid, shy, reluctant man and I think we can easily glean from scripture that he was even a scared man. He was scared of the Midianites; He was scared of battle and He was of course scared of being called into service by God. We somehow think that after we are called into the service of God, that all of our fear, trepidation and fright will somehow be magically wiped away. That as God calls us into His service, that He will use that Men in Black mind eraser thingy and just wipe away all of our fears and anxieties. Not even close. God will use every single fear and anxiety we have in this life to direct us right back to Him. For it is solely in Him that we can claim the power to overcome the fears and anxieties that plague us in this life. You see, it’s not bad to be scared, it’s bad to let your fear change how you view the power of God to overcome it. It’s OK to be scared, just don’t let it cripple how you serve God.
In Judges chapter 7 today we see Gideon continue to fulfill what God has called him to do, defeat the massive Midianite army that is enslaving the Israelites. You’d think by now that Gideon would have shaken his nerves and manned up for God. But God continues to show him (and us) that Gideon’s strength is not in himself or his army, but Almighty God alone. God starts out by giving Gideon 32,000 troops to fight. I’d say that’s a pretty good start. But in a strange development God tells Gideon he has too many warriors. What? Come again? I thought the idea of battle was to get as many soldiers as you could to fight the other guy. Not for God and not in this instance. God has Gideon make this offer to the entire 32,000.
“Now therefore proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return home and hurry away from Mount Gilead.’” Then 22,000 of the people returned, and 10,000 remained.” Judges 7:3
I can’t imagine how scared Gideon must have felt as he watched 22,000 of his potential soldiers walk off, too scared to fight. Two thirds of his army gone. I also can’t imagine how bad Gideon probably wanted to walk off with them. I’m sure he was just as scared as they were. But you see, Gideon had something the others didn’t. He had the strength, encouragement, power, and confidence of the Holy Spirit of God.
“Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Gideon…” Judges 6:34a
But God wasn’t done whittling the numbers yet. You see, God knew that if Gideon’s army were too big, they would lose sight of who was doing the fighting and where the credit for the victory would lie. So, God decides to pare the army even farther. He takes the 10,000 all the way down to 300. And it was with these 300 mighty men of God that they defeat an enemy that “lay along the valley like locusts in abundance and had camels without number.” Judges 7:12
But our text today also holds within it an absolute descriptor of Gideon’s nature. God has him go and scout the enemy camp before the battle and offers this option for Gideon:
“That same night the Lord said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hand. But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant.” Judges 7:9-10
Surely by now Gideon has outgrown his fear, right? Surely by now he’s not scared anymore; I mean he has the Holy Spirit so he can’t be afraid or scared anymore, right? Read on.
“Then he went down with Purah his servant to the outposts of the armed men who were in the camp.” Judges 7:11b
Gideon was scared. God said if you’re scared you can take Purah and he headed straight for Purah’s tent and grabbed him. Gideon was terrified. He was mortified. He was petrified. But folks, he still served the Lord.
Today, instead of seeing being scared as a weakness, see it as allowing the strength of the Lord to materialize in your life. It’s OK to be scared, it allows you the chance to be strengthened and comforted by God’s Holy Spirit. Today, instead of letting fear cripple you with worry, anxiety, and trepidation, allow God to negate these through His Holy Spirit. Ask the Holy Spirit to empower you to forge ahead just as Gideon did. Even though you are scared of the unknown, scared of the enemy and scared of the battle, God knows it. And it’s OK. It’s OK to press on through that fear by faithfully relying on the endless power and strength of Jesus Christ.
It’s OK to be afraid. Just don’t let your fear move you farther away from God and the call He has on your life. Instead, allow your fear to make you fully dependent upon God. And it is in that dependence that you will find a beautiful life of purpose, reason, service, peace and freedom.
“I’m no longer a slave to fear, I am a child of God.” No Longer Slaves, John Helser, 2015

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