During a walking tour of the Irish city of Waterford, I came across a Japanese ramen restaurant. After a few bites of traditional British food, I suggested to my husband that we take a nice break. Our tour director said the location was a 10 minute walk from the hotel. I was excited about this!
Dinner time was approaching so I convinced my husband that we should go to the pub opposite the hotel. “What happened to your ramen suggestion? I was already dreaming about dinner,” he said. “It will be late after I finish eating. I don’t feel comfortable walking at that time,” I quickly replied. I managed to get myself and my husband out of our dinner plans and drew his attention to some street art we saw and small alleys that could pose a danger.
The men who explored Canaan
Just like our Waterford city tour, Moses sent 12 people, one from each tribe, to explore Canaan. It’s time for them to learn more about the Promised Land before they move. ”Look at what the land is like, whether the people living there are strong or weak, few or many. What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad? What kind of city do they live in? Are there no castle walls, or are they fortified? What about the soil? Fertile or poor? Does it contain wood?? ” Moses commanded (Numbers 13:17-20, NIV).
The men went on a 40-day tour. And as instructed, they brought back fruits of the land from their journey. They shared this great report.We have gone to the land to which you sent us, and there is flowing milk and honey. this is the fruit“(v.27). So far so good. Once Israel has control of the place, starvation and famine will no longer be a problem.”
But the next news the men delivered undermined the initial milk-and-honey statement. “But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified; big. We even saw descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites live in the Negev. The Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in hilly areas. And the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan River.” (verses 28-29).
Effects of fear-mongering
What the hell happened? Ten of the twelve spies submitted bleak reports. They did not want to move forward and take the land as planned. They spread false stories to hundreds of thousands more people, instilling fear in their hearts and adding:The lands we explore are preying on the people who live there. All the people we saw there were very large. We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak are from the Nephilim). To our own eyes we looked like grasshoppers, and to them we looked the same” (verses 32-33).
It’s interesting how you create it in your head. The ten spies thought that a good life was no match for death at the hands of a giant. They soon used scare tactics to influence other nations of Israel to feel the same way. There is now discontent and lamentation within the camp, and there is even talk of a coup d’état. Moses’ job was in jeopardy because the people planned to make themselves their new leader.
When the fear begins
After all the fuss over dinner, I found the graffiti and small roads sending me into a state of terror. Even my husband’s presence could not convince me to change my mind. Fear took up residence within me.
Fear doesn’t take long to think of the worst that could happen. And the more we think about these terrifying scenarios, the more we encourage fear to grow within us.
When Moses met God and told him that he was being sent to tell Pharaoh to release the Israelites, he immediately said, “Who am I to go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” (Exodus 3:11)). He thought he was unfit to ask a great favor of a chief who was putting the Israelites in a dire situation. Moses argued with God about stepping down from his job, fearing the people’s disbelief in his role and mission. Additionally, he hid in Midian after killing an Egyptian and hiding his body in the sand. Why would he want to return to Egypt? There is a real psychological effect of fear.
Additionally, there are emotional effects of fear that cause anxiety and panic. Elijah demonstrated this perfectly when he received Jezebel’s death warrant after killing the prophets of Baal with the sword. Elijah was afraid of Jezebel’s threat and fled for his life. Yet in the wilderness he prayed for death, saying, “Lord, I have had enough. Please take my life…” (1 Kings 19:4).
What about the physiological effects of fear? When King Belshazzar saw a human finger writing a message on the wall, he said,His face was pale, his legs were weak with fear, and his knees were shaking” (Daniel 5:6).). He then called upon the wise men to teach him the meaning, but when they could not, he “became even more frightened, and his face became even more pale” (v. 8). He must have been very afraid when Daniel told him that he would soon die as a result of his contempt for God.
And we cannot overlook the fact that we too can be socially affected by fear. On the way to Caiaphas’ house, Peter was seen chasing Jesus from a distance as he was being apprehended by the guards. Peter, instead of going to the council to defend Jesus, sat outside in the courtyard and listened to the trial. And when the servant girl noticed that he was with Jesus, he said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about” (Matthew 26:70). Peter denying Jesus three times meant that he walked away from their relationship, even temporarily, out of fear for his life.
faith over fear
When the Israelites returned to the Promised Land, it was clear that their refusal to take possession of it reflected their unbelief in the God who had brought them out of Egypt and walked with them as a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. After the death of Moses, Joshua received God’s command to lead Israel and conquer the land. The Lord repeated these words to him: “Be strong and courageous” (Joshua 1:6, 7, 9, 18). In other words, there’s no need to be afraid.
In Hebrews, faith in God produced confident men and women.Conquer kingdoms, enforce justice…shut the mouth of the lion, quench the fury of fire…become powerful in battle, He routed the foreign armies” (11:33-34). And throughout the pages of the Bible we can: “Reading the stories of people who have been tortured”He was stoned to death…he was sawed in two…(and) he was killed with a sword.” He speaks out loud about how faith overcame fear (vv. 35-37).
The words of Isaiah remind us of the importance of constantly looking to God our Savior. God said, “Fear not therefore, for I am with you; do not be discouraged; for I am your God; I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”” (41:10).
As Jesus asked, “Why are you so afraid? Do you not yet have faith?” Jesus still asks the same of his disciples and of us who follow him (Mark 45:40). Are we going to fear Jesus’ ability to calm a terrible storm, or are we going to ask God to “strengthen our faith” so that we can overcome our fears (Luke 17:5)? One thing is clear. That means we must not destroy our faith in Almighty God by introducing fear.
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Tim Beaver
Louisa Collopy is an author, speaker, and women’s Bible study teacher. She also produced “Mula sa Puso (From the Heart)” in Tagalog (the language of her heart), which was released on the FEBC Philippine station. Luisa loves spending time with her family, eating and doing karaoke.
