Who do I Fear?

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? Romans 8:31
The Biblical story of the Israelites in Egypt ought to be a great encouragement for all believers. As you may recall, from the last few chapters of Genesis, the Israelites moved to Egypt to avoid perishing in a famine. God had sent Jacob's son, Joseph, to Egypt years earlier to prepare the way. He became a powerful ruler...second only to Pharaoh. When the famine came, Joseph...through a bit of family intrigue...invited his entire family to Egypt and Pharaoh approved. As the first book of the Bible closes the Israelites are flourishing, and at peace, in the fertile land of Goshen.

Of course, nothing lasts forever...

As the second book opens we find a new Pharaoh arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. He said to his people, “Behold, the people of the sons of Israel are more and mightier than we. Come, let us deal wisely with them, or else they will multiply and in the event of war, they will also join themselves to those who hate us, and fight against us and depart from the land.”  So the Israelites were enslaved and forced into hard labor. The Egyptians were in such fear of the sons of Israel that the Pharaoh ultimately determined to have every male child killed in order to reduce the threat. 

But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied...

We find an encouraging lesson here. If we are God's children (and, as believers, we are) we are to understand that "God will fight for us". (Deuteronomy 3:22) And, God is always victorious. Even so, fear often compels us to get in God's way and complicate the conflict. This is true of believers and unbelievers: Fear causes us do foolish things. Look at Pharaoh. From all accounts he had a good situation. The Israelites were peaceful and productive. Yet...He feared the "what if..." and embarked on a destructive course...at his own peril.

Fear is dangerous. I understand the tendency to fear the things we believe threaten what we hold dear. And, what would those things be? Health? Wealth? Family? They should not have enough value to entice us to take matters into our own hands. Jesus reminds us of this in His Sermon on the Mount; "Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matthew 10:28). There is no threat others can mount against us that should create fear. If we react to those threats we only make matters worse. We fail to trust God and we give Satan space in our hearts where he will attempt to destroy our soul.

Fear led Pharaoh down a dangerous path...

2. Fear is destructive. Fear causes us to focus on external threats rather than internal responsibilities. The Apostle Paul reminds us "If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men" (Romans 12:18). Yet...If we believe somebody has violent intentions we lose sight of our responsibility to be peaceful. I read about a man who heard somebody enter his home late at night. He grabbed his rifle and shot his own son...who had come home from the army to surprise his dad. We want to eliminate the things we fear and this inevitably creates chaos. We see this in the political scene today. Every partisan wants to eliminate the perceived threats to their own preferences. Can you think of anything not targeted for elimination? Depending on our preference, its immigrants, or white men, or feminists, or public schools, or Christians, or...whatever. There is no desire to live peacefully together. Even though Paul opens his great 'Love Chapter" with the words..."I show you a better way".

Fear led Pharaoh's to his own destruction... 
 
We are reminded in the Book of Romans 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 should surround us with a sense of peace. We know the Israelites were in Egypt only because God prepared the  circumstances to make it happen. As Joseph reminded his brothers, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result" (Gen 50:20).  Whether, or not, we understand this is secondary. As God's children we need to acknowledge this truth; Everything that happens in our lives in not necessarily God's design but...God will necessarily help us benefit from it.
 So, I wonder...what do we fear today? Are we worked up enough to take matters into our own hands? Or are we willing to let God work for our benefit in the midst of those fears? I'm not suggesting we do nothing. I'm saying "the midwives feared God" and that determined their actions. Pharaoh would be one example. The Israelites in Goshen would be another.

Which do you choose?

Live boldly out there today...