Being Fearless Instead of a Slave
Fear often leads us to settle for a life that is so much less than what God has for us.
This morning I was reading the story of Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt and to the shore of the Red Sea. Pharaoh had changed his mind and so he put together a special forces team and began to pursue the Israelites as they were reaching the sea. This felt like a disaster and a dead end. The Israelites began to panic and took their fear out on Moses.
They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” (Exodus 14:11-12)
“Being a slave in Egypt was better.”
Think about that comment.
What does that communicate about their view of God? And what does that communicate about their view of themselves?
Fear often leads us to settle for a life that is so much less than what God has for us.
As I was meditating on this passage this morning, I began to imagine myself being in this scene. I wanted to see myself as Moses, but I couldn’t help seeing myself in the sandals of the Israelites. I would have been afraid too. I probably would have panicked too. I would have second-guessed my decision to leave the life I knew. Sure, it was a life of slavery, but at least I knew what to expect.
Why are we so willing to settle for a life that is so much less than what God has for us? Well, for many of us, we like certainty. We like predictability. We like control. And as long as we have those things, we’ll just deal with the life that we’ve been given. We may dream of a better life, but dreams are risky. We convince ourselves that they are only dreams — that we’re not being realistic.
Sometimes we convince ourselves that we are “being realistic” when what we are really doing is avoiding the fear of risk — avoiding the fear of failure.
The Israelites have convinced themselves that this risk of freedom and a brand new life is no longer realistic. The uncertainty and lack of control that they are feeling is too much. “Being a slave in Egypt is better.”
However, there’s one Israelite on the scene who sees the world around him completely different. He’s not panicked; he’s fearless. He knows that God has more for them than being slaves in Egypt. He is paying attention. He hears God. God is with him. And he knows nothing is just a dream or too big of a risk if your trying to follow God’s lead.
And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.” (Exodus 14:13-14)
“You are more than a slave in Egypt.”
Moses doesn’t allow the fear of uncertainty or the fear of failure to paralyze him.
He is convinced that this is what God has told him to do. This whole situation looks like a disaster and a dead end, and things seem to be out of his control. But Moses isn’t afraid of that. He’s fine not knowing what’s next. He knows God will show up. He’s not second-guessing the decision to take this risk; he’s just listening to God and embracing the mystery.
What does that communicate about his view of God? And what does that communicate about his view of himself?
I obviously want to be more like Moses than the Israelites. I don’t want to let fear lead me into settling for a life that is so much less than what God has for me.