Setting Aside Your Fears

“The word of the LORD came to me, saying, ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.’ 

‘Ah, Sovereign LORD,’ I said, ‘I do not know how to speak; I am only a child.’

But the LORD said to me, ‘Do not say, “I am only a child.” You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,’ declares the LORD.

Then the LORD reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, ‘Now, I have put my words in your mouth.  See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.’" (Jeremiah 1:4-10 NIV)

Sometimes our fears just get in the way.  We are terrified to make the call to ask that girl whom we have had our eyes on for weeks out on a date.  We are frightened to change majors from something we have planned to do since junior high.  We are scared to death to sit down and share our faith with our neighbor.  And because of the fear, we don’t act.  

Most of us have fears and often we let them get in the way of experiencing the abundant life the Lord has planned for us.  By giving into those fears, we miss out.  We miss out when we fear what people might think.  We miss out when we conclude we couldn’t possibly do it.  We miss out when we settle for security and comfort.  

I remember a time when I was horrified at the thought of God calling me into overseas missions.  I loved my comfortable American lifestyle and had no desire to go anywhere else.  I refused to consider any possibility of living outside the U.S.  But the Lord kept nudging me and then more intently pressing me to surrender that idea.  Finally, I gave up my fear to Him.  

Within a year, I had decided to pursue a six-week internship with a mission agency and spent that time in what was then communist Eastern Europe.  Several years later, I spent a month in Kenya and Rwanda. Then I began taking students to Haiti and Honduras.  Much of my ministry has been encouraging students to lay aside their fears to consider what God might want them to experience in a foreign culture.  It all started with first laying aside my own fears.  

Jeremiah was a young man being asked by God to do something big and scary—be the mouthpiece of God to the nations of Israel and Judah.  He was terrified.  But he trusted the Lord and put aside his fears.  His life was not easy as a result, but I am convinced he was blessed because he was following the path the Lord had laid out for him.  

What about you?  Are you feeling God’s nudge in a direction you are scared to go or in a decision you are frightened to make?  Today, know you will be blessed if you set aside your fears and follow the Lord’s leading.  And He will be with you every step along the way.

© Jim Musser 2013