What Are You Afraid Of?
Justin Carrico
We aren’t kids anymore so being afraid of the dark or monsters in your closet might not be your thing...but, you’re afraid of something.
Sometimes, what we are most afraid of reveals the next step God wants us to take. There is a story in the Bible that illustrates this point well. Insert Moses. Moses was a guy who God wanted to step up and be a leader; but he was afraid. Afraid he was too normal to lead. Afraid he would be too inadequate for others to follow. Afraid of the unknown. Sound familiar?
So, one day when Moses was out in the fields with his father-in-law’s flocks, God spoke to him through a burning bush that was on fire but never burned. (He should have been afraid of that!) But, God used that exact moment to tell Moses that He wants him to step up as the leader for the Israelities and lead them out of captivity. Immediately fear strikes Moses.
He begins to stumble all over himself with excuses like: "Who Am I?," "What Do I Say?," "What If They Don’t Believe Me?"
Doubt after doubt, fear after fear, Moses continues to make excuses until finally God has to let Moses experience fear instead of just emotionally feeling it.
(Genesis 4:2-4) - “Then the Lord asked him, ‘What is that in your hand?’ 'A shepherd's staff,' Moses replied. 'Throw it on the ground,' the Lord told him. So Moses threw down the staff, and it turned into a snake! MOSES JUMPED BACK. Then the Lord told him, 'Reach out and grab its tail.'”
- Are you afraid of failure?
- Afraid of being singled out?
- Afraid of standing out?
- Afraid of being left out?
Sometimes, what we are most afraid of reveals the next step God wants us to take. There is a story in the Bible that illustrates this point well. Insert Moses. Moses was a guy who God wanted to step up and be a leader; but he was afraid. Afraid he was too normal to lead. Afraid he would be too inadequate for others to follow. Afraid of the unknown. Sound familiar?
So, one day when Moses was out in the fields with his father-in-law’s flocks, God spoke to him through a burning bush that was on fire but never burned. (He should have been afraid of that!) But, God used that exact moment to tell Moses that He wants him to step up as the leader for the Israelities and lead them out of captivity. Immediately fear strikes Moses.
He begins to stumble all over himself with excuses like: "Who Am I?," "What Do I Say?," "What If They Don’t Believe Me?"
Doubt after doubt, fear after fear, Moses continues to make excuses until finally God has to let Moses experience fear instead of just emotionally feeling it.
(Genesis 4:2-4) - “Then the Lord asked him, ‘What is that in your hand?’ 'A shepherd's staff,' Moses replied. 'Throw it on the ground,' the Lord told him. So Moses threw down the staff, and it turned into a snake! MOSES JUMPED BACK. Then the Lord told him, 'Reach out and grab its tail.'”
Are you kidding right now!?!?!
The staff becomes a snake, Moses jumps back afraid of it and the very next thing God says is to GRAB THE SNAKE BY THE TAIL!
Did God not see Moses jump back???
Did God not notice how afraid Moses was?
Could God not see the fear in Moses’ eyes!?!
Here is the truth: sometimes, the very thing that we are most afraid of, might just be revealing the next step God wants us to take.
Moses chose to overcome his fear and be obedient to what God was calling him to do. And as a result, God received all the glory when the snake turned back into the wooden staff.
Even though Moses was afraid, Moses obeyed.
What about you? What are you afraid of? Where is God calling you to obey Him over your fears? Do it!
Grab the snake by the tail and watch what happens!
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