How often do we hear that phrase, or a paraphrase of it, or even think it ourselves? In Monday’s reading from 1 Samuel 16-20 we saw a number of opportunities for fear. Samuel was the first to voice his fears. The Lord gave him specific instructions when He said “How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.” Pretty straightforward, eh? A question (How long…), a statement (I have rejected him…), a command (Fill your horn and go…) and a reason to obey (I have provided for myself a king…).
Samuel didn’t quite get it, though, even with all those hints. “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” (I’m afraid.) Like Saul, whom God has already rejected, can thwart God’s plan. Hmmm.
But God had a different answer, and from what is reported, doesn’t even seem to mind that Samuel questioned him. “And the LORD said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’ And invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do. And you shall anoint for me him whom I declare to you.””
It turns out that Samuel had no reason to fear. There are a lot of reasons not to be afraid. Some are valid, some are not. Some come from knowledge, others from ignorance.
My nephew recently told a story of a spring thunderstorm and a discussion it spawned with his youngest daughter. She wasn’t afraid of the thunder. In fact it wasn’t thunder, it was just “Boppa” out hunting, shooting deer with her cousin.
Samuel’s reason was even better than Boppa shooting deer. God would take care of him. He provided a ready answer. God had already taken pretty good care of Samuel in other situations. In the previous chapter, Samuel called on Saul and chastised him with these words: “Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has also rejected you from being king.” He followed that statement with this: “I will not return with you. For you have rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD has rejected you from being king over Israel.” As Samuel turned to go away, Saul seized the skirt of his robe, and it tore. And Samuel said to him, “The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you. And also the Glory of Israel will not lie or have regret, for he is not a man, that he should have regret.” If he was protected after saying these things, why did he think there would be a problem for following up on his statements?
He said all that without being afraid, and came out of it unscathed, by doing what God commanded. So why the fear now? Isn’t that typical, though? Even today, we can go from a moment of God’s great provision directly to a moment of doubt or fear with scarcely a thought between.
In the following chapters we see some of the great stories of God’s protection and deliverance in David’s battle with Goliath, and again in his dealings with Saul. In fact, David wrote Psalm 59 based on his experiences in chapter 19. He closes Psalm 59 with these words:
But I will sing of your strength;
I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning.
For you have been to me a fortress
and a refuge in the day of my distress.
O my Strength, I will sing praises to you,
for you, O God, are my fortress,
the God who shows me steadfast love.
In Tuesday’s reading we see another person who voiced similar concerns – essentially questioning God, who was speaking directly to him. Imagine talking back to God when He says something to you, as Samuel did and as Moses did two times in Exodus 3 and three times again in chapter 4:
11But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”
13Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?”
1Then Moses answered, “But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, ‘The LORD did not appear to you.'”
10But Moses said to the LORD, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.”
13But he said, “Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.”
God had excellent answers for Moses every time except the last one. The fifth time Moses balks at God’s direct command, we read “Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses” in 4:14. God called in the backup plan, and included Aaron, Moses’ brother in the plan.
Then in Thursday’s reading in Jeremiah 1 we read these words, as God was giving him his marching orders.
4Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
Jeremiah’s response to this?
6Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.”
And here is God’s answer to Jeremiah:
7But the LORD said to me,
“Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. 8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the LORD.”
The beauty of it is, all three of these men finally did exactly what God commanded them to do, and they all succeeded in their tasks. Not because they had it within themselves, but because they finally had faith that God would do what He said he would do, acted on that faith, and saw His words come true.
