Faith Overcomes Our Fears
Yael Eckstein | June 21, 2023
If the LORD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. —Numbers 14:8
In Judaism, faith is more a verb; it is something that we do, rather than something we have. These devotions explore the idea of faith as living out our lives in a way that reflects our belief and trust in God. Enjoy!
Let’s face it, the last few years have been full of uncertainty. Between the pandemic, contentious elections, and wars, it’s easy to feel as if the world is in crisis. In times such as these, it is easy to fall prey to fears which cause us to lose hope.
When everything around us seems to be heading in the wrong direction, what reason is there to think things will get better?
The short answer is faith. As people of faith in God, we know that the end will be good. What we don’t see is how we are going to get there. But is just saying we have faith the only strategy?
Faith is not the end of the answer to a world in crisis. Rather, faith is the lens through which we must interpret what’s happening around us. When we look at the world through the lens of faith, this changes our behavior as well.
Faith doesn’t mean we sit on the sidelines and wait for God to sort out the mess. Faith means that we have the courage and confidence to move forward because we know that God will prevail.
Faith Overcomes Our Fears
We see an example of faith overcoming fear in the story of the spies Moses sent to explore the Promised Land before the Israelites would enter it. As you may recall, twelve spies were sent, one from each tribe. Ten spies came back with the same message: “We can’t do it.” They described the mighty nations of the land who would crush the nation of Israel in battle.
Two spies, Caleb and Joshua, however, disagreed. Their argument was simple. We read, “If the LORD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them” (Numbers 14:8-9).
In other words, God is with us, and therefore there is nothing to fear.
In times of uncertainty when we see unsolvable problems and obstacles at every turn, we must draw on the strength of faith of Caleb and Joshua. If we align ourselves with the will of God, we have no reason to fear and we will be successful. Faith overcomes our fears.
Your Turn:
Do you sometimes feel paralyzed by fear for the future? Remember that God will prevail. There is nothing to fear so long as we are aligned with God’s plan.