The medical doctors of our world tell us that fear is a very basic emotional response. It may even be present in us from birth. However, many fears are learned.
As we grow and mature, some fears spring from our inability to cope with the situations around us. Other fears arise because we do not know what lies ahead of us. The future always has a sense of the unknown, and for many of us, that unknown creates a real fear.
Still other fears arise because of what has happened. The past seems to haunt us. It follows us like a shadow. We are constantly shadowed by it, it lurks in the background, and we wonder, can we ever be delivered from such fears?
I am sure most of us have fears. Some are deeply embedded; some may only be on the surface, but we have our fears. My message is about OVERCOMING FEARS. To understand how to overcome fear, we will meditate on the Scripture portion in Exodus 4:1-9.
1. And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The LORD hath not appeared unto thee.
2. And the LORD said unto him, what is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod.
3. And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it.
4. And the LORD said unto Moses, put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand:
5. That they may believe that the LORD God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee.
6. And the LORD said furthermore unto him, Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow.
7. And he said, Put thine hand into thy bosom again. And he put his hand into his bosom again; and plucked it out of his bosom, and behold, it was turned again as his other flesh.
8. And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign.
9. And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also these two signs, neither hearken unto thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river and pour it upon the dry land: and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land.
This experience that Moses had with the LORD should teach us how the ordinary NECESSITIES of life can be used by the LORD to overcome fear.
Let’s get the setting first. Moses had a nagging suspicion. God called him to go to Egypt and lead out His people, to bring them out of the land of bondage into the land that flows with milk and honey. But Moses said, “They will not believe me.” It may well have been true as far as Moses could see. I have learned that acceptance is important to every person. Moses said, “They won’t accept me.” That created in his heart a fear of failure. He said, furthermore, “They will say the LORD has not appeared unto thee.” They may have said, “You just thought the LORD came to you. He didn’t, really.” Because Moses felt they would not believe, he said, “I don’t want to.” He tried to protect himself from the rejection that he thought would come. Rejection is devastating to any perso...
