“Fear is contagious.”
Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – November 26, 2024
For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7
Have you noticed that hope, love, joy, and peace are contagious? Have you also noticed that fear is contagious too? There’s a story in Scripture that shows how fear can spread from one person to another.
In Numbers 13 and 14 it says, “And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Send men to spy out the [Promised] land of Canaan.’” So, Moses sent 12 spies. When the spies came back, Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.”
But the spies said they couldn’t overcome the inhabitants of the land because they were tall and they were strong. Then the spies said to all the congregation, “The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature . . . and we were like grasshoppers. . .”
Then Scripture said, “So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night” (Numbers 14:1).
No one can really blame the people. They just believed the men who had seen the enemies. But did anyone stop to ask the Lord His perspective as fear and panic spread from one person to another? The Lord is the one who had promised the Promised Land. He could give it to them no matter what kind of enemy was in it.
Perhaps you can relate. Someone tells you a difficult story and it triggers fear in you. I had something like this happen a while back. One of my friends called. She was understandably upset because she told me one of her friends passed away from cancer. In that moment, I recognized that the Adversary was trying to get at me through the conversation and make me afraid, so I held the phone out from my ear and said to myself, “That’s not my story. That’s not my story.”
I wasn’t about ready to give away the power God has given me through His precious promises. I have been bolstered by Jesus over and over to hold onto hope. I believe He is keeping me here to be a testimony of His faithfulness. He has told me to keep my eyes on Him. And even though I am still recovering from cancer, I must remember the Lord has an individual plan for each of us and someone else’s story is not my story.
Let’s imagine that your grown child has been making some poor choices. Someone you know tells you their story about how their child went to jail and died from an overdose. You immediately feel fear and panic. But you must not accept a negative report that would cause you to fall into vain imaginations. Instead, use the panic and fear you feel as a push to pray your child into Jesus’ arms. You are not a victim, but a victor and someone else’s story is not your story. Choose not to look at the other person’s story and take it on. Their story is not your story.
Imagine that you’ve been having marital problems. Someone shares a negative report with you about their own marriage. Do not allow fear to influence you to stray from God’s truth and promises. Instead, leverage these ungodly emotions and use them as a signal to pray for your mate and for your own heart. Hold fast to what the Lord has told you. Choose not to look at the other person’s story and take it on. Their story is not your story.
The righteous are called to live by faith and we have not been given a spirit of fear.
“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you” (Isaiah 26:3).
Prayer
Lord, I keep my eyes firmly fixed on you. I trust you. You have a perfect and good plan for me. Amen.
Application
Make a list of the promises God has personally given you.
Related Reading
1 John 4:18; Zechariah 4:6; Romans 5:5
Worship Resource
Maverick City with Naomi Raine: Promises
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