Don’t Be A Slave to Fear
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 put together a special forces team and 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 they took their fear out on Moses.
As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and saw them — Egyptians! Coming at them!
They were totally afraid. They cried out in terror to God. They told Moses, “Weren’t the cemeteries large enough in Egypt so that you had to take us out here in the wilderness to die? What have you done to us, taking us out of Egypt? Back in Egypt didn’t we tell you this would happen? Didn’t we tell you, ‘Leave us alone here in Egypt — we’re better off as slaves in Egypt than as corpses in the wilderness.’ ” (Exodus 14:10-12)
“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?
Here’s why I want us to think about what’s going on in this story:
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 — caught between an ocean and an Egyptian army. I wanted to see myself as Moses in this story, but I couldn’t help but see myself in the crowd of 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 so well. 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. The former slaves to Pharaoh have now become slaves to fear.
“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 fear-less. 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 you're trying to follow God’s lead.
Moses spoke to the people: “Don’t be afraid. Stand firm and watch God do his work of salvation for you today. Take a good look at the Egyptians today for you’re never going to see them again.
God will fight the battle for you.
And you? All you have to do is be silent!” (Exodus 14:13-14)
The Israelites are responding in fear. Moses responds by calling them to live free in their true identity.
“You are more than a slave in Egypt.”
Moses is the one man in this scene who 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 refuses to be a slave to fear. 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?
We all want to be more like Moses in this story than the Israelites. None of us want to choose slavery to fear over freedom with God.
So what do we need to do to pull this off?
“All you have to do is be silent!”
Fear is noisy. It fills our hearts and minds with internal noise that makes it difficult to identify the lies and false narratives that are influencing our view of God, our view of ourselves and our view of the world around us. We need to be still and to spend some time in silence listening for the voice of God and asking him to reveal the lies and false narratives that are holding us back.
Just try it. Maybe 2-10 minutes first thing tomorrow morning. Be still. Ask God to reveal any lies or fears that are holding you back. Then be silent. Listen for the voice of God. And be set free from the fear that might be causing you to settle for a life that is so much less than what God has for you.
Hope this was helpful!
