Believing without Fear
Spring rains have a way of refreshing more than just the soil. After a long winter in the Northeast, the Spring rains come in bringing new life to everything around it. The trees sprout beautiful pale green leaves that look like lace draped between the branches of mighty oaks and elegant maples. Flowers blossom in an array of colors: first the crocus and snow drops, then the daffodils, and the hyacinth. The fragrances of the pink and purple hyacinths can fill a room like none other. Grass begins to grow, and you can hear the starting up of lawn mowers as we prepare for that first mow of many more to come. It’s a season of excitement because new things are happening, and we want to be a part of it after being indoors for 6 months.
Deuteronomy is about new things. The Israelites have left Egypt. They have been wandering in the desert for 40 years. They have been given the Ten Commandments, and they have broken them numerous times. But Deuteronomy is where the Lord finally tells them “Go in and possess the land which the Lord swore to give to your fathers” (1:8 NASB). The winter is over, the wandering in the desert is done - GO! Because “you have stayed long enough” (1:6).
They must have been excited. FINALLY - no more manna and quail. FINALLY no more walking and walking and walking. FINALLY a place to settle down, where we don’t have to sent up a tent every few weeks. FINALLY the promise of NEW THINGS!!! Spring, a new season for the Israeilites was upon them. So Moses has 12 men, one from each tribe come together to go scout it out. They come back with great news - “It is GOOD land which the Lord is about the give us” (v. 25). The fruit is good, they held it in their hands. The land is good - look at the harvest.
BUT.
Moses reminds them.
BUT - “you were not willing” and then the Israelites rebelled. This is how Moses opens up Deuteronomy. The Spring is coming. God is ready to give them the land. The land is good - BUT, God’s Word says, they “grumbled”. Their hearts “melted”: “the people are bigger and taller than we; the cities are larger and fortified to heaven. And BESIDES, we saw the sons of Anakim there” (1:28).
Do you do this? I know I do. God reveals himself. Gives me a directive. Prompts my heart. I get all excited, and before long I get distracted with the BUTs.
BUT it’s too hard.
BUT I don’t have time.
BUT the laundry needs folding - I couldn’t possible make that call or write that card.
BUT dinner isn’t made, and my kids are hungry, so charge that McDs run again.
BUT everyone else is BETTER than me - MORE successful, BIGGER house, MORE money, fancier vacations, nicer cars.
And before I know it FEAR sets in. Fear I’m going to fail. Fear I’m not going to be accepted. Fear I’m going to look like a fool. Fear God isn’t going to show up.
Let’s be honest - FEAR is a very real thing, and its what keeps us from moving forward.
God knows this. He created us in his image. Remember back in the garden in Genesis - when Adam and Eve heard God walking in the garden, they “hid themselves from His presence” (v. 8) because as Adam states very cleary “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was AFRAID…so I hid myself” (v. 10). There it is. The first reference that we have to fear in the Bible, and it is related to disobedience. Adam and Eve disobeyed God, and as a result FEAR entered the world.
God knows this. In the Genesis account, God had warned Adam and Eve to stay away from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, and they didn’t. He had warned them, and they disobeyed. He created this beautiful lush garden for them to enjoy, and then He took it away as a consequence to their decision to sin. However, when we flash forward to Dueteronomy, God doesn’t issue a warning, He says “I have PLACED the land before you; GO in and POSSESS the land” (v. 8). He echoes it again in verse 21, “the Lord your God has PLACED the land before you; GO UP, TAKE POSSESSION…do NOT fear or be dismayed”. These are very strong affirmative verbs. God is very clear that He will honor the promises He has made to the Israelites. The land is theirs. The new season is upon them. All they have to do is move forward in their faith that God is going to make good on His end. He has given them a vision, a promise. He even lets them hold the good fruit in their hands as evidence that He is reliable and true!
BUT, the 12 return and rather than focus on the land and the goodness God has for them, 10 focus on the distractions. They allow their fear to cloud their faith - they are too big, they are too strong, they have more advantages - it’s not possible for us to be successful here despite what God has revealed to us and allowed us to tangible see and hold.
And so they grumbled. Just like they grumbled in Exodus 15-16 after seeing the Egyptian army swept away.
The interesting thing to me though, isn’t that they grumbled, or that they allowed fear to live in their hearts - it’s how God responds. Moses writes, “DO NOT be shocked,nor fear them. The Lord your God who GOES BEFORE you will Himself fight on your behalf, just as He did for you in Egypt before your eyes, and in the wilderness where you saw how God CARRIED you, just as a man carries his son, in all the way which you have walked until you came to this place” (v 29-31).
We grumble. And God patiently reminds.
If He has given us a passion, a dream, a vision in our hearts - then He is going to go before us and He will bring it to fruition. However, we think that also means it will be EASY, and the two are not the same. Just because it’s been promised, doesn’t mean it's going to be easy. God will go before us, but we must do our part. Jesus is the savior of the world, and I’m confident he would have preferred an easier road than the Via de la Rosa! Yes, He would be glorified. Yes, He would save us all. But the road? The road was filled with mockery and betrayal and being dismissed. Ultimately resulting is a really horrific death of incredible pain. Jesus Himself begged, “Father, IF you are willing, remove this cup from ME” (Luke 22:42). Even Jesus wanted an easier road to fulfill the promise God had made. Fortunately for us, Jesus was able to continue, “yet not MY will, but Yours be done” (v. 42), but the passage continues into verse 44 where Luke, the medical doctor, writes “being in agony…His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground”. Jesus was AFRAID because He knew the road ahead. He knew the lips of Judas would be pressed against His cheek. He knew the sting of the cat of nine tails was coming. He knew the impact of a Roman soldier's fist would shatter his eye, and the sound of nails that would be driven through his hands.
He KNEW.
But rather than grumble like the Israelites who couldn’t see past their fear, Jesus said even in fear, He would go and possess the land. He would obey. He would honor God. He would not let His fear take away the promise God made to redeem the world.
Back in Deuteronomy, Moses continues - “but for ALL THIS - you did not trust the Lord your God, who GOES BEFORE you on your way, to seek out a palace for you to encamp, in fire by night and cloud by day, to SHOW you the way in which you should go” (1:33). Even after all God’s faithfulness, do you find yourself still doubting? Still being afraid? Asking yourself - how will I ever see the dreams He has put on my heart come true? I know I struggle with the “buts” of my life. The distractions. I wonder how willI ever get where I want to go, or rather, where I believe He wants me to go.
The answer is simple. Do not be shocked that the road looks different than you thought. God isn’t interested in easy, He is interested in making you more like Christ. Building up your faith and cultivating your character. Do not be afraid. God has gone before you - prepared a place for you. It might not be what you thought it would be, but He’s already ahead of you because He sees the bigger picture. And do not forget. Do not forget what He has done for you. You might not have had manna falling from the sky, but I remember very clearly getting my nails done and the nail technician overhearing my lament that my grill was no longer operable and he gave me a BRAND NEW ONE. True story, my pastor’s wife/BFF was with me!
If God be for us. If God be for YOU - then who can be against you. Your role is to be like Jesus - trust that God is going to do what He says He will do. So move forward. Stop grumbling. Go and possess the land He has prepared for you.
