Judges 7:3
“Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from mount Gilead. And there returned of the people twenty and two thousand; and there remained ten thousand.”
Whenever God commands you to do something, you will always find that fear will be something that you must overcome. When a person decides to step out by faith, two companions show up: fear and doubt. I’ve often said that fear is being afraid of that which has never happened. What you do with your fear will ultimately determine how much God uses you.
There are two stories in Judges that show me two completely different reactions to fear. The first story is found in the verse above when Gideon comes to the army of Israel and tells those who are afraid to go home. Amazingly, twenty-two thousand men went home. These men were afraid to face the great Midianite army, so instead of facing their fear they went home.
The other story is found in Judges 6:27 when Gideon was fearful of what the people would do if he tore down the images of Baal. The difference in this story is that Gideon did not listen to the voice of fear. He would not allow fear to stop him from doing what he was supposed to do. Though fear somewhat dictated his confidence, it did not stop him from obeying God by faith.
The results of these actions are two very different results. Because Gideon did not listen to fear and stepped out by faith and obeyed God, he not only became the leader of Israel, but he arguably was part of one of the greatest victories of all time. On the other hand, those twenty-two thousand men who went home could never say that they were part of that army who defeated the great Midianite army. Can you imagine the regret these men had as their children knew they could have been a part of that army? These results were all dictated by how these people responded to fear.
When God wants you to do something, what do you do with your fear? When God commands you to witness to someone, do you listen to fear and stay quiet or do you obey God’s voice and witness? When God commands you to give either to the church or to an individual, do you listen to fear and hold back or do you by faith give what God laid on your heart? There are many times throughout the week when God will tell you to do something, but fear will either cause you to withdraw and disobey or your faith will cause you to ignore the voice of fear and step out and obey God. The blessings of God upon your life will all be determined by what you do with fear.
Christian, certainly fear can paint a gruesome picture, but faith will always be rewarded. All you have to do is go back in your mind and remember the times you ignored fear and obeyed God to see the positive results you obtained. I challenge you not to listen to fear. When fear begins to magnify its voice, always look to faith and obey. You will always find that the greatest victories are ahead when fear sounds its voice the loudest. Always ignore the voice of fear and you will find that great victories will follow. No, those victories will not be easy, but they will come.