Judges 6:27
“So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the LORD told him. But because he was afraid of his family and the townspeople, he did it at night rather than in the daytime.”
How is fear holding you back today?
How is it keeping you from fulfilling your purposes, following your dreams, or stepping out in faith?
This past week I read the story of Gideon, that familiar Bible character you may remember from flannel boards in Sunday School. The same Gideon who God called from the winepress to defeat the Midianites; the same Gideon who used the test of fleece to ask God for a sign regarding the direction he was to go.
While it is a familiar story, as I read it again this past week, as so often happens, a different detail caught my attention. Before Gideon defeated the Midianites, God asked him to take a first step by tearing down the altar of Baal, the altar God’s chosen people the Israelites had been using to worship a false god. Understanding God’s assignment for him, but being too afraid to destroy it in broad daylight, Gideon took ten men and tore the altar down under the cover of darkness. While Gideon was afraid, he still took that crucial first step.
Imagine with me for a minute if Gideon had let fear keep him from following God. He never would have torn the altar down. He never would have gone on to defeat the Midianites. He never would have become a judge over Israel. If Gideon had let fear keep him from taking that first step, he would have missed out on fulfilling his God-given purpose.
As I considered this, it occurred to me how we should not let the presence of fear convince us we are outside of God’s will.
Rather, the presence of fear – and the need to rely on God – is often an indication we are right where God wants us to be.
If there is nothing in your life that is generating a bit of fear, is challenging you, is requiring you to get outside of your comfort zone, to rely and God and walk in faith, that is when we should be concerned we are not walking on God’s path for our lives.
You will rarely if ever be 100% sure of God’s leading. Stop waiting for certainty. Rather, if you are 55% sure of the direction God is leading you, take a step of faith into the unknown and see where God leads from there.
Stop letting fear hold you back.
Like Gideon, be willing to do it, even though afraid, and take that first step. Boldly step into the unknown, knowing God will be with you every step of the way.
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