FearPart OneJoshua 1:99 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. oDo not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."From Abraham (Genesis 15:1) to Hagar (Genesis 21:17) to Isaac (Genesis 26:24) to all of Israel (Exodus 14:13), it seems God spent a lot of time reassuring His chosen people. They did have reasons to fear. When they weren’t facing incredible odds in battle, they were worshiping other gods and courting God’s wrath.One of the most famous “don’t fear” passages is in Joshua 1:9. Moses has died. Joshua is now responsible for taking the Israelites the last few steps into the Promised Land and then leading them into battle to destroy the evil Canaanites and take over their land.He was one of the oldest of the Israelites, and wisest, but he didn’t quite have the relationship with God that Moses had. And besides making sure the new settlements were fair and according to God’s plan, he needed to constantly remind the stubborn people that they were only there because of the God they were supposed to worship.In the midst of all this, God told him:Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go…Only be strong and courageous. Joshua 1:9, 18bIt sounds pretty straight-forward, but it might help to look more closely at the words.Commanded – The Hebrew tsavah has military overtones, as would befit a military commander. God gave Joshua not just an order but a commission to reject fear. It was his personal mission to not fear but to be strong and courageous. He had to make a decision to follow this order. This sounds a bit odd to us in the modern age who are taught that feelings are out of our control and the best we can do is learn how to carry on.Strong – Chazaq means to strengthen, but it’s more than that. It means to be firm, prevail, withstand. The meaning of the word almost assumes success.Courageous – The next adjective, ‘amats, is much like the previous. But in addition to strength, it talks of being alert and brave. Strength is all well and good, but it needs a direction, which ‘amats begins to give.Frightened – The Hebrew ‘arats doesn’t just mean some general dread. It means to tremble with fear, to be terrified. Joshua, who had seen God work for forty years, who had been one of two ready to take on the Canaanites forty years prior (Numbers 13), was shaking in his boots. The task at hand was overwhelming, and he did not feel ready.Dismayed – Chathath means to be so dismayed and afraid that you shatter into pieces. Joshua was so afraid, he was ready to collapse to the ground.So, Joshua was scared. He was trembling. His strength was shattered, and he was ready to melt into a puddle. And God ordered him to reject that fear, to be firm, to prevail against his enemies, and be brave in the face of impossible odds. Most of us know how hard it is to go one despite the fear. To just do the thing. It often feels impossible. But to dismiss the fear entirely?God didn’t leave Joshua to do it all on his own. He gave him a lifeline: “…for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”God promised to go with Joshua, but the conclusion is the other way around. God was going with Joshua because Joshua was going where God was. God could promise Joshua that He would be with him because He knew Joshua would follow God’s leading and then lead the Israelites to do likewise. Joshua had no reason to fear because he was acting under the command and authority of God. His success was guaranteed.
God promises us blessing if we reject fear, but not those implied in Joshua 1:9. He promises us much more.Does this apply to us? Not directly. This was a conversation between God and Joshua. It does provide us with an example of the blessings that come with obedience. Joshua put aside his fear, and the Israelites took their inheritance. But the promise God made to Joshua that he would see success doesn’t pass on to us. Later we will look at this later and we’ll see that our rewards for rejecting fear and following God look very different.
FearPart TwoIsaiah 41:10 …fear not, for I am with you be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Jeremiah 29:11For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.Isaiah 41:10 is a pretty common “fear not” verse. Like Joshua 1:9, the reason given is that God will take care of things. In this case, specifically, He will provide strength and support.Fear – The word yare’ is not quite the same as in Joshua 1:9. It doesn’t imply terror so much as awe, reverence, dread, and astonishment. In this case, it applies to enemies.The audience was to show neither revere nor dread their enemies.Dismayed – The KJV and the ESV say “be not dismayed,” but the NASB uses the more literal “do not anxiously look about you.” Sha’ahprimarily means to look at or regard, but in context can mean to gaze about in anxiety. Like a squirrel who doesn’t know where the dog is.Strengthen – This is the same Hebrew word, ‘amats as “courageous” in Joshua 1:9. But where Joshua was to choose to be courageous, here, God is promising He will provide the strength.Uphold – The Hebrew Tamak means to grasp, support, keep, seize. It’s a secure grip in the midst of the storm.Righteous – The verse is all about God’s protection, so the addition of this word is kind of interesting. God describes His right hand (a symbol of strength) as tsedeq – just and morally right. His actions are not only beneficial, they are also just.But who will these actions benefit? This passage was written during the reign of Hezekiah, a good king of Judah, apparently not too long after he foolishly showed Babylonian messenger the wealth of Jerusalem. God then told him (through Isaiah) that all his riches will be taken to Babylon and some of his sons will be made eunuchs to serve the Babylonian king. Hezekiah responds that the judgment is acceptable since it won’t happen until after he’s gone (Isaiah 39:1-8).Isaiah 40 and 41 go on to encourage the people in preparation for their coming exile. Isaiah 41:1-20 starts with a description of God’s power and sovereignty over nations, how He allows some to rise up and others to disappear like dust. In the wake of His power, people try to encourage each other to stand strong and have courage.“But you, Israel, my servant…fear not, for I am with you…” (Isaiah 41:8a, 10a). Israel did not have to rely on idols forged and formed with hammer and anvil. They did not have to reinforce their gods with nails (Isaiah 41:7). God is with them even when their enemies defeat them.God chose them (Isaiah 41:9), strengthens and upholds them (Isaiah 41:10), holds their right hand (Isaiah 41:13),helps them (Isaiah 41:14), arms them (Isaiah 41:15), makes them conquerors (Isaiah 41:16), and provides water in dry places (Isaiah 41:17-18).As for Israel’s enemies:God makes them tremble (Isaiah 41:5), shames and confounds them (Isaiah 41:11), makes them nothing (Isaiah 41:12), and scatters them like chaff in the wind (Isaiah 41:15-16).
Why does God do this? As part of His plan to show the world that He is God and idols are nothing (Isaiah 41:21-29). That was why God promised Israel He would be with them – because He knew the persecution they were going to face at the hands of their enemies would one day cause them to return to Him and worship Him alone. Then He would strike. Then the Israelites would live without fear – God would raise the Israelites up as He destroyed those who He had used to crush them.
Isaiah was written during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah (Isaiah 1:1), around 787-697 B.C. Although Hezekiah was a pretty good king, his son brought in so much idolatry that God allowed him to be the first king of Judah to be captured and taken to Babylon. Jeremiah was written later, during the reigns of Josiah, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah, and into the Babylonian captivity (623-586 B.C.). His message was one of hope. Exile was inevitable at this point, but the people would return and the Israelites would reclaim Jerusalem. Chapter 29 was written to the exiles in Babylon after Jehoiachin had been taken and his kinsman Zedekiah installed as king. It was Zedekiah who rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar so badly that his sons were killed in front of him. He was then blinded and taken in chains to Babylon. He was replaced by the governor Gedaliah who was assassinated right before the last of the residents of Judah fled to Egypt.*So, Jeremiah’s spot was bad and getting worse. In addition to speaking unwanted truth about Judah’s future, he was constantly being tortured (Jeremiah 20:2) or thrown in wells (Jeremiah 38). Still, he was faithful to God’s commission of speaking both judgment and hope. In Jeremiah 29, he passes on God’s instructions to the Israelites living in Babylon to settle down, to build homes and gardens, get married and have kids – and even pray for the welfare of their temporary city. This exile would last for seventy years, and then God would bring them back to Jerusalem.It’s at this point that Jeremiah 29:11 comes in: “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Plans – The Hebrew machashabah does mean plan, but the word also means thought and invention. So God’s plans are not haphazard. He has thought things through and makes His choices very deliberately.Welfare – This is the word shalom. It means completeness, safety, health, and prosperity. But more importantly, it means peace and friendship with God.Future – This word doesn’t just mean later; it means at the end. ‘Achariyth refers to the end, posterity, the last, or the future in a prophecy. It implies a long, patient wait.Hope – The KJV is more literal here, combining tiqvah with ‘achariyth as “expected end.” Another translation of tiqvah is cord or line, as if following a pre-determined path to reach the end.But whose path?If Jeremiah 29:1 hadn’t been so specific in noting that this prophecy was addressed to “the surviving elders of the exiles, and to the priests, the prophets, and all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon,” the context would be nearly as obvious. Jeremiah 29:11 is for the Israelites in exile in Babylon a long time ago. It is not directed at us in the church age.
Jeremiah 29:1 was for the Israelites in exile in Babylon; not for us in the church.
And it doesn’t comprise the whole of the promise. Jeremiah 29:12-14 goes on to say that God will restore their relationship with Him, as well as their fortunes, and bring them back to the Promised Land from all their places of exile. But it is an “expected end.” It will not happen immediately. Jeremiah had to deal with several false prophets who insisted the exiles would return soon and everything would be put right. These false prophets will come to a very unpleasant end.It could be that this is a double-prophecy. That it applied to the time of Hezekiah and Ezra when the exiles returned, to the 1940s when the Jews returned to Israel, and the Millennial Kingdom when the Abrahamic Covenant will be completely fulfilled. What it does not apply to is the 21st century church. Not least because we have not been lost in Babylon for seventy years (Jeremiah 29:10).That doesn’t mean that God excluded us – in His comfort or His plans. It just means that the prophecies and admonitions in the Old Testament need to be taken into context. We have a great deal to learn from Israel’s stories, but we are not Israel. * For more on the delightfully confusing tale of Israel and Judah’s kings, see “What is the Story of Kings and Chronicles?”
FearPart ThreeMatthew 6:34Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Joshua 1:9, Isaiah 41:10, and Jeremiah 29:11 were very specific commands of encouragement to specific audiences. None of those three verses were addressed to believers of the church age, and to say otherwise is to misuse the Word of God.But God has a similar message for us. In a way, it’s a deeper, harder, fuller message.Anxious – The Greek word merimnao has two basic definitions.The first is to be “troubled with cares.” The second is related; it’s to make the effort to ensure your needs and interests are taken care of. It covers both action and thought.Sufficient – The Greek word here, arketos means “enough.” But it’s interesting to note that the root word, arkeo actually means to have enough strength to prevail.Trouble – Malice, wickedness, depravity, and evil all characterize kakia. It's not just a traffic accident, it’s a deliberate attempt to cause harm and injury. It’s the leaven of 1 Corinthians 5:8 and the malice of 1 Peter 2:1, 16.Joshua was not to fear the Canaanites. The Jews in exile were not to fear the Babylonians. God would fight for them, He would protect them, and He would make sure their enemies would pay. In the end, Israel would triumph and prosper.Matthew 6:34 puts Christians in a similar boat. It says we are not to concern ourselves with the malicious evil that we will encounter in the future. Instead, we are to concentrate on the malicious evil we face today. It is today that God teaches us and helps us grow spiritually. It’s today that we can help others. And, really, it’s today that we can take action to make our situations less generous to future evil. Conspiracy theories are not wanted here.
Dealing with today’s evil today makes our lives less hospitable to evil tomorrow.
With Joshua, Isaiah, and Jeremiah, their focus was on the well-being of their nation. God would deliver their people, and Israel would be whole again. But it didn’t mean that everyone would thrive, or even survive. The priority was the glory of the nation of Israel. It’s only in the last few years that the last few Jews have left “Babylon.” Not all of them got out alive.For us, that’s where Matthew 6:33 comes in:
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.The “things” spoken of here are mentioned in verses 25-31: food, drink, clothing. These basics of life are not to be our priority. We are to seek God’s Kingdom first.Seek – This isn’t just to look around randomly. Zeteo means to meditate, reason, and then strive after – even to the point of requiring it. This is no passive opportunism.Kingdom – Basileia doesn’t mean a literal, physical, political kingdom. It means sovereignty, dominion, and rule. “Kingdom of God,” then, doesn’t mean eternal paradise, although that’s included, too. It is the manifestation of God’s righteousness and authority and sovereignty whenever it may appear. It is final judgment, and it is mercy for a sinner. It’s a cup of water for the thirsty and Noah’s Flood. It is something we experience daily, and something that we can facilitate when we submit to the Holy Spirit.Righteousness – The Greek dikaiosune doesn’t just mean virtue, rightness, what we need to be acceptable to God. It also means the way we are supposed to be. The way we were created to be. We are to strive to be who God intended us to be.Added – This is a pretty simple word. prostithemi just means added. Joined to.Gathered.We are not called to worry about the evil that may come in the future. Our priority is to be who God created us to be and to show God’s righteousness and sovereignty to the fallen world. If we do so, we are promised: food, drink, clothes.But, note, it doesn’t say we won’t starve. Or die of thirst. Or never go naked. It means God will provide the basics, but note that in the Greek for “added,” there’s no sense of sufficiency or enough. It’s not arketos, it’s just added. How much? Enough that you won’t have to sin (1 Corinthians 10:13).Enough that you can do works God has for you (Ephesians 2:10).We are not promised safety, health, or money. We are not promised that we will always be clothed and fed. We’re not even promised our lives. And we’re not promised protection from what evil can do to us on earth. We are promised spiritual security and eternity with God (John 10:29).The question we must answer for ourselves is, is that enough? FearPart FourPhilippians 4:6-8Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
Colorado Springs had a small blizzard. In the days before, grocery stores were cleaned out of bread, milk, and bananas. All for a “snowpocalypse” that saw schools closed for a total of three days in a city where the average pantry could feed its people for a couple of weeks or more. Preparing is fine. Being consumed by emotional panic that you’ll run out of ground beef over the course of half a week is something else.The early church saw dangers much more acute. Compared to being fed to lions, facing the risk of running out bananas in February is pretty silly. But even if we are faced with death, God tells us to reject worry.Anxious – This is the same merimnao as in Matthew 6:34. To be troubled and/or make it a priority to seek one’s own interests. The word is often used in the context of persecution, which Paul had started addressing in Philippians 1:27-30.Anything – The Greek word pas just means all things; every bit of the whole.Supplication – Deesis means to seek, ask, beg God to handle our need, lack, privation.Made known – The Greek gnorizo means to make known or to cause to be recognized.The other words involved, prayer, thanksgiving, etc., have pretty literal meanings. There are just a couple of seeming contradictions in the verse that bear looking at.We are not to be merimnao about our needs but deesis God about them. That is, we aren’t to promote our own interests or be troubled that a situation won’t resolve favorably, but we are to beseech God to fill our needs and wants. That doesn’t mean we can’t act on our own behalf. Or plan for the future. It doesn’t mean that we should neglect responsibilities and assume God will take care of all our needs without us lifting a finger. t speaks more to the emotional weight of a situation. It is so easy to transform the weight of concern and duty into either frantic, desperate activity or overwhelmed passivity. We aren’t to take either of those routes. We’re to present our needs (which would include peace of mind) to God and trust that He will provide, knowing that part of His provision will involve work on our part.The other hiccu in the verse revolves around the word “present.” How can we make our needs known to God if He already knows everything? Many of the other places in the New Testament where gnorizo is used, it’s in the context of revealing the identity of a person or a spiritual truth. An exception is 1 Corinthians 15:1 where Paul reminds the Corinthians of the gospel. In these two cases, the word means more to bring to one’s attention. But even this has a different tint when applied to the God Who knows everything always. When we bring something to His attention, we reveal what our priorities are. And we start a conversation with God about an issue – a conversation that will continue past the moment. When we invite God into a situation, we’re more focused and more likely to keep a lookout for His involvement. That’s a huge part of spiritual growth.Philippians 4:7-8
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Philippians 4:7-8
Peace – There are several shades to the Greek eirene, including exemption from the rage and havoc of war, and safety and prosperity, but the key in the verse is the application of this peace: it’s between the believer and God. Harmony, tranquility, and security all characterize our standing with God.Guard – Bearing in mind the context of “peace,” the literal phroureo continues the metaphor as it speaks of being protected by military forces from a hostile invasion.Hearts – The Greek kardia refers to the seat of life, both spiritual and physical; the place where our life flows from.Think about – The root word of logizomai is the familiar logos, which makes an English translation difficult. It doesn’t mean just to think about or to “dwell” (NASB) or “think on” (KJV). The Amplified gets closer: “center your mind on them, and implant them in your heart.”Even then, a sense is lost. The reason we can “implant them in our hearts” is because we have reckoned the logos of these things and judged them to be true.The list of things to dwell on in Philippians 4:8 can be (and have been) the subject of an entire study, but we will do a brief overview only. Nature hate a vacuum. As we give God our worries and concerns and desire to control in order to protect, He tells us to be filled again. He will fill us with the assurance that our relationship with Him is characterized by a harmony that ensures us He takes responsibility for protecting our hearts. Meanwhile, we are to seriously consider the truths of those things that are honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, and excellent – those things that indicate the Kingdom of God is in our presence.Philippians 4:7-8 explain how we should think instead of being anxious. Philippians 4:4-5 describe how we should act:
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand…Rejoice – The Greek chario means to be glad, but it also means to be well and thrive.Reasonableness – To be reasonable (epieikes) is to be suitable, appropriate, fair, mild, and gentle.So, to be anxious is the opposite of rejoicing in God. To be reasonable is to rely on God for our needs.
It is actually unfair and inappropriate to be anxious. That’s really convicting. These “don’t be anxious” verses in the New Testament continue their relentless call to reject worry, not because we’ll be safe anyway, but because our focus is elsewhere. A family facing a short blizzard that remembers their warm home, hot water, and full pantry won’t be anxious about running out of bananas. Their hearts are at peace. Similarly, a Christian who remembers truth, honor, and the priorities of God can weather any spiritual storm.
FearPart FourRomans 8:28 and 1 Corinthians 10:13
The first two articles on fear covered Joshua 1:9, Isaiah 41:10, and Jeremiah 29:11. The Joshua and Isaiah passages are specific commands not to fear; The Jeremiah verse is a reason not to fear. Unfortunately for our purposes, they’re all very specifically directed at the nation of Israel, not at us in the church age. The next two articles were directed at us. Matthew 6:34 tells us not to fear for practical reasons: Don’t let the potential issues of tomorrow distract us from the things we need to deal with today. Philippians 4:6 gives us a command, “do not be anxious about anything,” and then gives us things to do instead, including pray, give God thanks, and keep in mind what is good (Philippians 4:8). In return, God promises to give us peace (Philippians 4:7).Let's take a look at two verses that are often used as reassurances against fear, but not always in the way in which they were intended.Romans 8:28
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
This verse is often interpreted to mean that “everything happens for a reason,” almost as if we’ll be rewarded for our troubles. But that’s not what it means.Things – Again, this is the Greek pas, which just means every part of the whole.Work together – Sunergeo means to work in union, to partner in labor.Good – Agathos is pretty standard. It means of good nature, useful, agreeable, excellent, honorable.Love – The Greek language has several different words for “love”; this one is agape which means a self-sacrificing, active love, not a mushy feeling.Called – The definition of kletos doesn’t just cover the invitation to salvation, but the selection for a purpose. God calls us to Himself to do His work.Purpose – The Greek prothesis literally means to set something out for view. In fact, it is the Greek term for the showbread that was to be brought to the Temple every Sabbath (Numbers 4:7).These are all simple words, but we don’t often consider how they are put together in Romans 8:28, a verse we learn as children. All things do the work that will result in a future good. That doesn’t mean that we will be able to see how those steps progress toward good. It doesn’t mean that the good will benefit us in this world (health, wealth, transitory happiness). Loving God is key, because when we love God, we value what He values – if we don’t the result will not look like good to us.We are called (we are charged) to this life of God’s purpose. We are called so He can put us into view, to be conformed to the image of Christ, to be justified, and to be glorified (Romans 8:29-30). On display to show all of creation God’s power and sovereignty and love in choosing to redeem us. We are promised that this will be a painful process, involving suffering for us (Romans 8:17) and creation (Romans 8:19-22), and a need for a great amount of patience (Romans 8:23-25). In the end, the good doesn’t mean houses and kids and wealth – we’re not Job. It means being God’s work, on display.1 Corinthians 10:13
No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.
Another verse that is misinterpreted, often says, “God will not give us more than we can handle.”Temptation – The Greek peirasmos means the situation by which our character is put on trial so who we really are can be revealed. Overtaken – “Overtaken” sounds like someone is beating you in a race. Lambano means temptation cannot grab you, throw you over a shoulder, and take you for its own.Common to man – This is all one word, anthropinos, that characterizes humanity. It’s not just that these trials come up regularly amongst people, it’s that these trials are ubiquitous to the human experience. Faithful – The Greek pistos means that metering our trials in life is part of God’s official duties, and we can trust Him with those duties.Able – There are three different ways in which we may be dunamai to resist temptation: through our own abilities or frame of mind, through the inherent nature of the conditions, or because of the law and local customs. God, of course, has sovereignty over all three.Provide – Poieo infers that whatever the trial, God will orchestrate the situation so that we have a way out; He will actively make us an option to triumph.Way of escape – This way of escape, or ekbasis, isn’t a lie. We won’t have to rely on a technicality. It is a door marked “exit,” and leads directly away from sin.Endure – That doesn’t mean it will be easy. Hupophero means to patiently carry a burden. Resisting temptation and triumphing over trials that threaten to prove us unfaithful takes patience, strength, and sometimes sacrifice.“God doesn’t give us more than we can handle”: that interpretation doesn’t even make sense. For one thing, the entire passage is an admonition to flee sin (here, specifically, eating meat at pagan ceremonies). For another, what does “handle” mean?
That we won’t get frustrated? Cry? Die? None of the above, if history is any proof. Simply stated, it means God won’t put us in a situation where we have no choice but to sin. But,It really means God won’t allow us to face a trial that will inevitably lead to the revelation that our character is bad. Whether by inner strength, strength of will, circumstances, or the nature of things, He will provide a way so that we can make the right choice and show ourselves to be His followers.
The world may beat us to a pulp or even kill us. But it will never force us to sin or deny Jesus.
Neither Romans 8:28 nor 1 Corinthians 10:13 speak directly about fear, but they’re frequently used (and misused) in the face of fear. “Don’t worry – everything will work out and be good again.” “Don’t be anxious – God won’t let you break.”Neither of these reassurances are accurate. The world may beat us to a pulp. The world may kill us. We may be broken, physically and emotionally. But the world will never abuse us so badly that we will be forced to sin, deny Christ, and prove to be unfaithful to God. And in the end, we may be beat up, bruised, and dragged through the mud, but we can reach the finish line with our honour intact and God’s glory waiting for us.Never fear about that.