God’s Word Dispels Fear

Jesus gave the disciples three statements. The first one was, ‘Take courage.’ God once said to Joshua, ‘Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go’ (Joshua 1:9).

I think of George Duffield’s hymn —

Put on the Gospel armour,
Each piece, put on with prayer
Let courage rise with danger.
Be never wanting there.

The more danger rises, the more courage rises. Courageous people may well be afraid, but they go ahead anyway. If you’re not afraid, why do you need courage? It’s easy to face a threat. But when you are frightened, scared stiff, terrified, appalled and you still go ahead — that’s bravery. Jesus said, ‘Be courageous.’ He didn’t say the storm was not real. Just ‘be courageous,’ that’s all. Take courage.

Gordon Moyes once wrote, ‘Only a church that can fail is a church that is living by faith.’ When there is no possibility of failure, you don’t need faith.

Then Jesus says, ‘It is I.’ In the Greek text, the expression literally means, ‘I, even I, am.’ It is an emphatic grammatic form. It is the same wording that Jesus uses in John’s gospel when he says, ‘I am the bread of life,’ and, ‘I am the way, the truth and the life.’ Especially in John 8:58 where he says, ‘Before Abraham was, I AM.’

It’s a declaration of deity.by which he is reminding them. ‘Here is God with you!’ The storm is raging, the boat is about to sink, the sails are torn to shreds, but God is here with you. If God is here, then nothing else matters.

Thirdly, he says, ‘Don’t be afraid.’ Someone once told me that the words ‘don’t be afraid’ occur some 365 times in the Bible. One for every day of the year, except leap year. Well, I haven’t counted them, but the phrase does occur many times.

Time and time again, the Bible says, ‘Don’t be afraid.’ God’s word dispels fear.

What next?

Read Joshua 1:5-9. These are the words of the Lord to Joshua when he was about to invade Canaan. Why do you think God told Joshua three times to be courageous? What did God tell Joshua to do to stimulate his courage? How can you apply this to your life today? Be specific.

Read Joshua 1:5-9. Memorise verse 9.