Lynn Jones: Facing life with faith, not fear
By Lynn Jones
Thomas Fuller said, “He that will not sail until all the dangers are over will never put out to sea.” Faith is required of all of us if we are ever to accomplish anything.
The Israelites were on their way to the promised land after fleeing Egypt. When they arrived at the border of that land, Moses sent 12 spies into the land for 40 days to assess the land and the resistance they might encounter. After 40 days, the spies returned to give their report. They all agreed that it was a rich land, but the challenges they would meet from those who lived there would be great. There was a sharp division of opinion, however, about whether they should enter the land.
Ten of the spies thought they should not enter the land because of the opposition they would encounter. They said, “The people we saw there are of great size. We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them” (Num. 13:32-33). Erwin Lutzer preached a sermon on that text. He called it, “Overcoming the Grasshopper Complex.” He said that is still our problem. We look at the challenges we face in life and conclude that they are too big, and we are too small. We are overwhelmed and afraid to face them.
A man told a friend about walking through the woods and seeing a bear. He turned around, headed for the closest tree that he could find, and climbed it. His friend said, “Bears can also climb trees.” The man responded, “He couldn’t climb this tree because the tree was shaking so much the bear couldn’t get up it.” Our fears often overwhelm us like that. The fears of the ten spies overwhelmed them when they considered the opposition they would face in entering the promised land.
Two of the spies who had seen the land had a different response. These two men were Caleb and Joshua. They agreed that it was a rich land and that the challenges of taking it would be great. Their conclusion, however, was that God had led them to this land; therefore, they said, “The Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them” Num. 14:9). They did not focus on the size of the challenge but on the promise and the presence of God.
A note in a church newsletter offered an apology about an error that had appeared in the previous Sunday’s bulletin. The note said, “A mistake was made in the title of a hymn we sang. The title of the hymn should have been, “Our God Reigns,” not, “Our God Resigns.” God has not resigned. He is still on His throne and cares about us. We should not be afraid. With God as our helper, we can win the victory over the threats we face.
Lynn Jones is a retired pastor who lives in Oxford. He does supply preaching for churches in his area and often serves as an interim pastor. Jones is also an author, has written two books and writes a weekly newspaper column. He may be contacted at: kljones45@yahoo.com.
