A Note from DT
I was considering last week’s message about the Israelites when they were finally able to cross the Jordan river into the promised land. The entire generation before them had perished in the wilderness because when they had originally spied out the land they were so terrified of the Nephilim that their hearts melted with fear. (Numbers13) Now this new generation had moved ‘across the tracks’ into this land that was occupied by many of these supernaturally charged enemies. The first order that God gives in this new land is for Joshua to circumcise every male in the nation. Not only are they now in the land where there are many foes who want to keep them out but they are going to voluntarily undergo a covenant procedure which will render the entire army vulnerable and completely helpless for about a week if the enemy were to decide to pounce. They had demonstrated their courage by crossing the Jordan into Canaan despite this dark presence in the land and now they would have to vulnerably sit in the very presence of the fear that had kept so many from entering in. Listening back to the message I could not help but sensing that this is the place where so many people find themselves right now.
There is something powerful about learning to sit in the presence of the things which we fear. Galatians 5 contains a list of things which cause people not to inherit the Kingdom of God calling them ‘works of the flesh’. (Galatians 5:19) Everything listed are things which people use in order to avoid the discomforts that come from fear. In a clear contrast to this when we choose to follow the Lord or ‘walk in the Spirit’ we are choosing not to avoid that which makes us uncomfortable but rather to faithfully follow the path of the Shepherd. We are choosing never to avoid the things which make us feel afraid. As David declared, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will not be afraid, for You are with me.”(Psalm 23:4) The Presence of the Lord is often right in the place where we fear… sit still.
If you catch yourself in a state of fear or pressure, and your instinct is to seek to try to disrupt that feeling or even to avoid it, the best thing to do is to stop and allow yourself to feel what you are feeling. This isn’t coming into agreement with fear but it is actively removing fears ability to steer you off of your path. It’s not about the absence of what makes you afraid, it’s about the Presence of the One who has you covered. Like the circumcised warriors of Israel, it is often best to allow yourself to sit with the uncertainty that fear brings. It is here that you will realize that you are not alone. God is with you. As David so poetically wrote, “He prepares a table in the presence of my enemies”. This is the place where we connect to Him…the eye of the hurricane. It is a place of healing…a place of empowerment. There is a people who will not allow fear or comfort to keep them from laying hold of what God has fully released to them. They are going to step into a level of Kingdom authority that most haven’t even thought available. All of creation is longing for it…why not us?
-DT
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