September 16, 2023
“When you go out to war against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and an army larger than your own, you shall not be afraid of them, for the Lord your God is with you, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.”
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And the officers shall speak further to the people, and say, ‘Is there any man who is fearful and fainthearted? Let him go back to his house, lest he make the heart of his fellows melt like his own.’
Deuteronomy 20:1,8 (ESV)
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This command is from Moses to the Israelites just before they went into Canaan to take the promised land. They knew that many battles awaited them across the Jordan and that they would often be outnumbered, but they needed to have faith and trust in the Lord.
We should have this same courage in knowing that God is on our side, but just as importantly, we also need to promote courage amongst each other. Moses makes it clear that fainthearted men will bring fear into the army and cause it to spread.
This wisdom is also applicable to us in our culture of fear. The message today is that armageddon is always around the corner. Our media and government constantly push fear because they know it’s contagious, and it gives them more power. We are glued to their doom propaganda; we suck it in and then release it to everyone around us.
Fortunately, fear is not the only contagious emotion; courage can also spread like wildfire.
Imagine if we read scripture and built each other up with the hope and promises of Christ instead of watching the news and filling our heads with fear, complaining about how “the world is going to hell in a handbasket?” What if we radiated so much confidence that we had to “make a defense for the hope that is in us” (1 Peter 3:15)?
Has anyone ever asked you, “Why are you so hopeful?”
In God’s army, anyone bringing fear into the group is told to stay home. There’s a valuable lesson here.
Don’t spread fear; spread hope.