FLOWING WITH MILK AND HONEY!
Part 9
”I, even I, am he who comforts you. Who are you that you should be afraid of a man who will die… and you forget the Lord your Maker… You have feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor… and where is the fury of the oppressor?” (Isaiah 51:12-13)
We look at the last temptation that keeps us from possessing the land.
- Fear keeps us from possessing the land.
The children of Israel feared to go in and take the Promised Land because of the report of the 10 spies who informed them of the giants in the land, people that were stronger and mightier than them. It is easier to fear situations that are bigger than us, isn’t it? We dread things we cannot cope with. Yet, when God inspired the next generation to go in and possess the land, He said to them, “Hear O Israel: Thou art to pass over Jordan this day, to go in to possess nations greater and mightier than thyself, cities great and fenced up to heaven, a people great and tall, the children of the Anakims (who were the giants)” (Deuteronomy 7:1; 9:1-2). But He also told them He would be with them to help drive out their enemies.
There is a natural fear that alerts us to danger. But we also tempted with many unnecessary fears. Many times we fear a fear rather than reality. Psalm 53:5 says, “There they were in great fear, where no fear was.” The margin in my Bible says, “They feared a fear!” One of Satan’s greatest tactics is to bind us up with fear even where there is no valid reason for the fear. He wants to debilitate us with fear in order to stop us possessing our great land of motherhood.
I think that we as women are especially susceptible to fear. We feel very vulnerable when we are pregnant, nursing and bearing the responsibility of the precious lives God has put in our hands. Satan uses this weakness to try and put us out of action with unrealistic fears. Because of many “stories” some young mothers fear having a baby and yet our body was created for this experience. It is not a negative but a maximizing experience for a woman. A mother is empowered physically, emotionally and spiritually when she gives birth naturally. She feels she can conquer any mountain in the world! I remember when Evangeline birthed one of her breech births. It was a powerful, victorious home birth. She was so elated (is there any greater elation than at the birth of a baby?) that she cried out, “I’ve climbed Mt. Everest and put my flag at the top!”
Because of physical problems, the medical profession often puts fears in mothers about having future babies. Each situation must be faced with responsibility, but we also have to be careful that we do not listen to “fears” that do not come from God. Many women who have been told they must not have another baby have gone on to have wonderful pregnancies and births. A future birth does not have to be like a previous birth. Each new pregnancy and birth is new and different.
We can also give into fears about our children too. I remember when Evangeline was serving the Lord in Israel. It was in the time of the Gulf War when Sadam Hussein was sending Scud missiles into Israel. I had great peace about her being there until a rabbi (in Australia where we were living at the time) put fears in my heart and told me it was too dangerous, giving many reasons, and she should leave immediately. Sadly, I listened to these “fears.” Do you notice that most fears come to us by negative words that people speak to us? How we need to be reminded that we do not have to live our lives by the words that people say. We must listen to God and His Word.
But I listened to fears. We told her she must leave, which was against her will. But then God began to convict me and show me I had listened to the fears of man which I confessed before the Lord. She had flown to London in obedience to our command, but it wasn’t long before we received a call to say, “Can you please give me permission to go back to Israel? I know that is where I am meant to be.” We gave permission and she flew back in the midst of Scud missiles falling—and is still alive!
What fears are you struggling with today? What are the things that are looming like mountains in front of you? Please know that no matter how big the mountain, no matter how big the giants, no matter how impossible the situation looks, your God is bigger! You cannot overcome in your own flesh, but God is with you to overcome the enemy. Instead of listening to the “fears” and the negative and fearful words that family, doctors and well-meaning friends speak into your life, trust God.
Trusting God eliminates immobilizing fears. May we learn to live this new way of living in our overflowing land of motherhood.
Love from NANCY CAMPBELL
PRAYER:
“Dear Father, please help me to put my trust in you, instead of looking at the “giants” around me. I thank you that you are bigger and able to deliver me in every situation I face. Amen.”
AFFIRMATION:
As I trust God my fears subside.