| November 10th, 2016

Fear of What God Is Asking Me To Do

In Exodus 3 and 4, we read about God calling Moses to go to Pharaoh and deliver the message to let the Israelites go free from Egyptian slavery.  I think we can learn a lot from the back-and-forth dialogue between God and Moses. Let’s pick the conversation up in Exodus 3:11 (I’ll paraphrase):

  • Moses – “Who am I?” (3:11)
  • God – “I will be with you.” (3:12)
  • Moses – Who are you?” (3:13)
  • God – “I am the Most High God.” (3:13-14)
  • Moses – What if they don’t believe me?” (4:1)
  • God – “I will equip with you with miraculous signs.” (4:2-10)
  • Moses – “I don’t have what it takes.” (4:11)
  • God – “I will help you.” (4:12)
  • Moses – “I can’t do it. I’m going to fail. Get someone else.” (4:13)
  • God – “I will get others to help.” (4:14)

From this dialogue, we learn that Moses doesn’t think highly of himself. He focuses on his flaws and he doubts God’s plan and judgment. The bottom line is that Moses is checking in scared. We also learn that God is asking Moses to do something out of his comfort zone. God promises to be with Moses, God promises to equip Moses for the task and God gets help for Moses to do the job.

Here are some principles about God’s calling on a person’s life:

  • First of all, God’s calling can come in all shapes and sizes. It could be as simple as be a good father and focus on your children. Or, it could be go be a missionary in Africa and live in a grass hut.
  • Second, God’s calling on your life will more than likely require you to step out of your comfort zone. In their book Experiencing God, Henry Blackaby and Claude V. King say that what God asks you to do will always lead you to a crisis of belief. Why? Because if God only asks you to do things you can already do on your own power; then you get the glory when those things get done. But if God asks you to do things that can only be done by His power, then God gets the glory.
  • Third, God will equip you for whatever He asks you to do. God does not set you up for failure. Just like He equipped Moses with miraculous signs and sent Aaron to help him, God will supply what you need for what He calls you to do. This does not mean that everything will go smoothly when you follow God’s call. God told Moses that Pharaoh would not listen. He was letting Moses know that he would meet resistance along the way. However, that did not mean that God was not with him or equipping him.
  • Fourth, it is okay to be afraid. Did you know that “Do not be afraid” is the most common phrase in the Bible? It is usually expressed when a person comes into the presence of a holy being. God’s calling is coming into God’s presence. Fear is a God-given emotion. I used to think that if I was afraid it was a sign that I did not have enough faith. Fear is not a sign of a lack of faith. How you respond to fear reveals the level of your faith. Do you let fear paralyze you or do you give your fear to God?

Here are some truths about God that can counteract the fear (source: Experiencing God):

  • God is love. Therefore, everything God does is out of love. God’s will is always best.
  • God is all-knowing. Therefore, God’s directions are always right.
  • God is all-powerful. Therefore, God can enable you to do whatever He asks you to do.

What about you? What is God calling you to do that brings up fear for you? What do you do with that fear? How do you respond?

I recommend this response as a start. Put your fear in front of you and pray this prayer:

“Heavenly Father, You are Lord of my life and everything in it. I will follow wherever You lead. I surrender this fear to You now.”

And the journey continues…

By Barry Thomas

Barry is Chairman of the Board for The Crucible Project. He has been a catalyst in bringing and growing our ministry throughout Texas. He is a senior operations engineer for Concho Resources in Midland, Texas. Prior to that, he served in ministry for 13 years at churches in Oklahoma City, Chicago and Midland. Barry holds a master’s of divinity from Bethel University in St. Paul, Minn. He also holds bachelor’s degree in petroleum engineering from Colorado School of Mines. Barry completed his initial Crucible weekend in August, 2005.