Today's Daily Lesson is from Psalm 78:
"9 The Ephraimites, armed with the bow,
turned back on the day of battle."
Is it any wonder why in the Bible when the angels showed up they were always saying, "Do not fear."?
When I think of my own life, I think of how often the fear of disapproval and rejection has paralyzed me. I have been unable to speak or decide or decide what is best. Sometimes fear has meant I've been unable to say no. And, sometimes, fear has meant I've been unable to say yes. But most times fear has meant I've been unable to say what's on my mind or in my heart and to speak it with clarity, conviction, and passion.
Like the Ephraimites before us, we all allow fear to paralyze us. We allow it to stop us in our tracks, to overestimate the forces against, and to underestimate the forces within us. When we listen to and act out of our fears it is a guarantee that we will always pause, and stammer, wring our hands, and ultimately back down. Fear will always back us down.
So today I offer to you advice given to me not long ago from an old preacher who heard me preach and heard fear in my voice. "God has equipped you for this work, he said. "God has given you a voice. Trust it. Trust the Gospel you preach. Trust God."
In other words, he said to me what the angels said so many times before in the Bible and I now say to you, "Do not fear."
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