FEAR, A ROBBER

MEMORY VERSE: Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from mount Gilead. And there returned of the people twenty and two thousand; and there remained ten thousand. Judges 7:3

BIBLE READING: 2 Samuel 9-12

After the children of Israel repented of their sins and cried to God for help, He raised a judge for them, Gideon. Thirty thousand men volunteered to fight alongside Gideon. Judges 7:2- 3 says: ‘And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me. Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from mount Gilead. And there returned of the people twenty and two thousand; and there remained ten thousand.’ There are one or two lessons we can learn from this story. Firstly, victory is decided by God, not by the size of an army. Proverbs 21:31 says: ‘the horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the LORD.’ As far as God was concerned, the twenty thousand were not needed.

Secondly, boldness and courage are 'must-haves' for anyone who will work for God or work with God. God used ‘the presence of fear or absence of faith’ as a yardstick in deciding those He will use and those He won’t. Judges 7:3a says: ‘Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from mount Gilead.’ Hebrews 11:6 says: ‘But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.’ To rephrase this, with fear (without faith) it is impossible to please God. Fear is a robber. It robbed the twenty thousand of an opportunity to be used by God. Fear robbed them of an opportunity to be everything they can be for God. It robbed them of an opportunity to be numbered among the greats, the 300 God used to deliver Israel. It robbed them of an opportunity to become record breakers and pacesetters. Fear robbed them of an opportunity to become a victor.

NOTE: Fear – fear of failure, fear of the unknown, etc. – can rob one of greatness or good things.
PRAYER POINT: Father, I receive the spirit of boldness.

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world.