Skip to main content

New Article: Are You Living in Fear or Faith?


                Fear is a great motivator when you find yourself in a life-threatening situation.  Fear can cause you to run faster, fight harder, and act more quickly than normal.  For a brief time, fear-based reactions can be very useful.  Over the long run, though, a fearful approach to life tends to lead to problem avoidance and poor decision-making.  1 Samuel 17 is a perfect example of this truth.

               Twice a day, for forty days, a giant named Goliath challenged God’s people.  When the army looked at him, all they saw was his nine-foot-tall frame and the immense strength that he possessed.  We are told that “[King] Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified” (verse 11).  Every day, the army drew up its battle line and shouted the war cry as if they were going to fight (verse 20), but when they saw Goliath and heard his shouts, “they all ran from him in great fear” (verse 24).  The discussion focused on what they could not do, and the more they spoke about their fear, the more fearful they became. 

               Then, one day, a young man named David showed up.  When he heard what was happening, his response was, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; [I] will go and fight him” (verse 32).  After a brief discussion, King Saul decided he had no other option.  You likely know how the rest of the story goes.

               What made David run toward the problem when everyone else was running away?  What made him confident when men much older than him were scared? 

               David’s secret was that he was listening to a different voice. 

While the army focused on Goliath’s threats, David was reassured by the promises of God.  They listened to fear and discouraged each other from even trying to fight, while David found strength and confidence in the fact that God was with him.

Fearful thoughts produce fearful leaders which, in turn, produces fearful followers.  Given that each of us are leaders in some realm, we would do well to guard our thinking and what we are focusing on.

“So we say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid’” (Hebrews 13:6).

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

New Article: Grace Changes Everything

               A young man broke into a business and did $5000 damage. As part of his Restorative Justice sentence, he was required to meet with my friend Garth.   Garth believes in making apologies and restitution.   It took several months, but Garth finally convinced the young man that these were necessary steps, so he tried to arrange a meeting with the business owner.                The business owner wanted nothing to do with this situation.   He was angry and wanted a more severe form of justice.   Eventually, however, he agreed to meet the young man to hear what he had to say.                  The young man looked the business owner in the eye an...

New Article: We need a Better Scorecard

                   “Is that a Sun Ice?”                “Excuse me,” I said.                My friend pointed to my new ski jacket and asked again, “Is that a Sun Ice?”                It was 1991 and Sun Ice was the big name in ski wear at the time.   “No” I replied, “I can’t afford one of those”.                “Oh” he said as he lost interest and then just walked away.                I had not seen this friend in more than a year and, sadly, his first ...

New Article: Surprised by God

                 We would be shocked if we could hear the Bible for the first time again.   On every page, something unexpected happens.   The only reason we are not surprised is that the stories are so familiar to us.   Think about some of the unexpected interactions that God has had with his people.                For example, every culture has stories about a creator, but none imagined that God would become part of the creation.   That the creator would lower himself and become human is surprising, to say the least.                Not only did he become one of us, but he also came as a baby.   A tiny, helpless, baby!   If I wer...