September 23

OVERCOMING OUR FEARS

An Arab chief tells the story of a spy captured and sentenced to death by a general in the Persian army. This general had the strange custom of giving condemned criminals a choice between the firing squad and “the big, black door.” The moment for execution drew near, and guards brought the spy to the Persian general. “What will it be,” asked the general, “the firing squad or ‘the big, black door?’” The spy hesitated for a long time. Finally he chose the firing squad. A few minutes later, hearing the shots ring out confirming the spy’s execution, the general turned to his aide and said, ‘They always prefer the known to the unknown. People fear what they don’t know. Yet, we gave him a choice.” “What lies beyond the big door?” asked the aide. “Freedom,” replied the general. “I’ve known only a few brave enough to take that door.” The best opportunities in our lives stand behind the forbidden door of the great unknown.

Ezra 3:3 “Despite their fear of the peoples around them, they built the altar on its foundation and sacrificed burnt offerings on it to the Lord, both the morning and evening sacrifices.”

The return of the people to the land is a story of overcoming fear. It is 70 years after the destruction of Jerusalem and according to God’s plan it is time to move back to the land. God moves in both Cyrus’ heart and in the people’s hearts to make this move occur but that does not mean God exempted them from the emotion of fear. For many of these people the move to Jerusalem was a total leap in the dark. They were born and raised in Babylon and felt very comfortable in that city. But God had a bigger plan and part of that plan was the conquering of fear. So many times in our lives we are limited by fears. God is not looking for fearless people; he is looking for fearful people who trust him. For us to accomplish great things, daring things for the Lord, we must overcome our fears.

What are you afraid of today?

Take those fears to the Lord and ask him for strength to overcome them. As the apostle Paul stated in Philippians 4:13 “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”