Do Not Fear: Walk with Him

The next set of the “Do Not Fear” series is the times the Lord gave the command in the midst of different circumstances and situations, whether it be in times of war, or famine, or persecution. There are numerous stories in the Bible where someone was facing fear because of the situation they found themselves in. However, God wants us to walk in His love and be fearless in the face of life’s circumstances, and He gives us the command personally. 

If you’re familiar with the story of Israel and the nations, you’ll know that God commanded the Israelites to wipe out various pagan nations. During these times of war, and later on, even when different kings had reigned over Israel and Judah, God commanded His people to not fear the impending task in front of them. However, I find it interesting that of these instances, He personally delivers the command. In Numbers 21, Moses was getting ready to cross through the land of the Amorites, but the king wouldn’t allow Israel to pass through the land. After the Israelites defeated and conquered the land, they went up to the Bashan. There, the king of the Bashan also fought with them in battle. Then, “Adonai said to Moses, ‘Do not fear him. I have given him with all his people and his land into your hand. You are to do to him just as you did to Sihon, the Amorite king who was living in Hesbon’” (Numbers 21:34). 

It’s like the Lord was saying, “I’ve done it before, and I will do it again. Just trust Me and the process and do not fear, for the victory is yours if you walk with Me.” Sometimes, we know the victory is ours, but we have to actually walk through it in order to receive it. 

I remember when I was in my first car accident—shortly after getting my license, no less—where the other driver hit the front wheel of my car, spinning me straight toward the guardrail. Thankfully, I was able to steer in time to avoid the guardrail, but after the accident, I did not sit behind the wheel for several weeks (partly because I no longer had a car to drive, but also partly because I was afraid to get back out on the road). I had been commuting to college by that time, so I needed to drive myself to class and then to work, as well. Eventually, I knew I would have to drive again, and I knew that I’d be fine. It took that first time behind the wheel again for me to face the fear, and know and feel that God was with me. Of course, after the first few times, I really was fine, and was back on the road again as normal (for the most part). 

I would have never gotten through the fear, and into the (small) victory of being able to drive again if I did not have God with me. But even in small instances like this one, He does not want me to fear because He’s already gone before me. He’s already seen all my days and circumstances and situations, some of which will be and have been difficult, but His presence doesn’t leave because of bad circumstances. Sometimes, we have to walk through even the worst days of our lives and receive His victory in the end. 

I particularly like how Moses understood the importance of repeating the same truths over and over again. Throughout Deuteronomy, he recounts the faithfulness of God and the things he’s seen, gone through, and experienced. In Deuteronomy 3:2, Moses is retelling the story of how Israel was able to defeat the King Sihon and King Og: But Adonai said to me, “Do not fear him, for I have handed him over and all his people and his land. You will do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon.” I think this shows the importance of remembering the goodness and faithfulness of God. It’s easy to forget what all the Lord has done for us, but Moses understood the value of sharing and retelling all the Lord has done (see also Psalm 78:4, 145). 

I love when people ask me how I came to know Messiah, or how I was able to get through my season of depression in my early teens or anxiety after college, because it forces me to remember how God was the One who carefully constructed my days, even when I was far from Him. It’s only because of His goodness to me that I’m here, alive and breathing. He gets all the glory, but sharing or retelling the ways He has worked in my life not only allows Him to work through my stories, but reminds me and encourages me that He’s with me still, even now, no matter what I may be facing or going through currently.

He is the One who is faithful, always. He is the One who has seen my darkest days and is the One who carries me through. He is the One who is faithful, even when I am not. He is the One who gives breath to my lungs, giving me life. I know I can trust Him, always, in and through anything and everything.

As Moses’ successor, Joshua had a large task in front of him: leading the nation of Israel into the Promised Land! Once he had successfully led them out of the wilderness and into the land flowing with milk and honey (see Exodus 3:8), Joshua’s first battle was Jericho. When Jericho was defeated, the Israelites were commanded to not keep anything and instead put it in the treasury of Adonai (Joshua 6). Then one man decided he wanted to keep some of the silver and gold things and kept it in his tent, which then provoked the Lord to anger (Joshua 7), which stopped the progress of capturing the city of Ai, and Joshua inquired to the Lord about why he wasn’t having success (which was promised to him in Joshua 1:7–8). 

Then Joshua found out about Achan, the man who wanted to keep some of the artifacts and gave him the opportunity to confess—which he did (see Joshua 7:20). Achan was stoned to death and “then Adonai said to Joshua: ‘Do not be afraid or dismayed. Take all the people of war with you and arise, go up to Ai. Behold, I have given the king of Ai, his people, his city and his land into your hand’” (Joshua 8:1). Sometimes our sin is what holds us back from receiving a victory. Those sins need to be repented of so that our relationship with God would be restored. After the personal restoration happens, the Lord continues to command, “Do not fear.” He will take you back once you’ve repented and He will continue to be with you every step of the way. 

Even before the victory was made, God declared it victorious. Even when Joshua couldn’t see what was happening and didn’t even begin his battle, he already won because he trusted in the Lord. Sometimes God wants us to trust and believe that we’ve already won a battle, even before we’ve begun it; God wants me to remember that He has already gone before and He goes before me when it’s time to fight or face a battle or a hard situation, etc. Faith in His victory will give me the victory! I also find it interesting that the Lord gave the victory even after a grave mistake was made. It’s encouraging to know that God is just as He is merciful. He is gracious as He is holy. It’s His kindness that leads me to repentance (see Romans 2:4) and once true repentance happens, true restoration and victory can then also happen. 

As we move along in the story of Joshua, he conquers Ai, but then is tricked into a treaty with the Gibeonites (Joshua 9). Because of the victory over Ai, the surrounding nations became afraid of Israel and the power of God working through them, so they banded together to fight the Israelites. Here, God says to Joshua, “Do not fear them, for I have given them into your hand. Not one of them will stand before you” (Joshua 10:8). And then again, another group of nations worked together to fight against Israel, and again, the Lord says, “Do not be afraid because of them, for tomorrow at this time I will give all of them slain before Israel. You are to hamstring their horses and burn their chariots with fire” (Joshua 11:6). What He says will come to pass! Joshua relied on the strength and power of the Lord and because of his faith was able to walk through victory after victory. 

The next time I found “Do not fear” in the context of war was when King Jehoshaphat was facing a battle with the Moabites and the Ammonites. But, I particularly appreciate the way King Jehoshaphat handled the situation: prayer and fasting, seeking the Lord, and worship. Because the king had chosen to seek God first, and all the families of Judah and Jerusalem came together to pray, the Holy Spirit worked through Jahaziel, a Levite, who heard from the Lord: “Listen all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat. Thus Adonai says to you, ‘Do not be afraid or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. … You will not fight in this battle. Take your positions, stand and see the salvation of Adonai with you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid or be dismayed. Tomorrow go out to face them, for Adonai is with you’” (2 Chronicles 20:15, 17). 

When we choose to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (see Matthew 6:33), we allow room for Him to move in our circumstances. Because all of Judah and Jerusalem sought the Lord, they were able to have the victory. Not only that, but they didn’t even fight because God Himself set ambushes against the children of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, and they were defeated (v. 22). All the Israelites needed to do was stand and watch (v. 17). 

Sometimes God wants us to participate alongside Him in our battles, but sometimes all we need to do is be still and know (see Psalm 46:11) and watch the Lord work in our midst. 

The final instance of war or a threat of war that I came across was when King Ahaz was given the command through Isaiah. He was so afraid when two kings went up to Jerusalem to war against it (Isaiah 7) that “his heart as well as the heart of his people shook like the trees of the forest shaking with the wind” (v. 2). So, the Lord sends Isaiah to “say to him, ‘Keep calm and be quiet. Do not fear nor be fainthearted because of these two stubs of smoldering firebrands, because of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram, nor of the son of Remaliah’” (v. 4). However, King Ahaz was not one of the good kings during his reign over Judah (see 2 Kings 16:2). Yet, God is giving him an opportunity to trust Him, even when the circumstances weren’t looking good. Unfortunately King Ahaz chose not to trust God, and so his reign was not blessed and the Lord wasn’t with him. 

We are all always given a choice: trust in God or not, believe in His promises or not, and what we decide can change the outcome of our lives. When Moses and Joshua trusted in God, He delivered. When King Jehoshaphat needed to be still, the Lord battled in war. When King Ahaz did not trust, he missed out on the blessings God had for him in his life. 

We are given the “Do not fear” command from the Lord for a reason: He wants us to look to Him and trust in Him in any and every situation because He has already seen it and He has already gone before us. We can be victorious in all things because we are His. Be blessed, my friends.

---

“The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.” —Exodus 14:14, ESV

Scripture taken from the Holy Scriptures, Tree of Life Version*. Copyright © 2014, 2016 by the Tree of Life Bible Society. Used by permission of the Tree of Life Bible Society.