Fears and Moving Forward

I just need to put it out there.  I’m scared of spiders.  They are creepy crawly things that, for some bizarre reason, I’m afraid will attack me, and I will lose.  It makes no difference that I’m exceedingly larger than them.  It makes no difference that I can think and mentally process ways to destroy them.  It makes no difference that I am faster than them.  They scare me. Even the little ones.

I was reading today in my Bible, the book of Exodus, chapter 14.  It tells about the Israelites and their escape from the Egyptians.  What a great story!
Early in the story it says that the Israelites were marching out boldly. Imagine a whole nation of people, walking out, and away, from a city where they had all lived as slaves.  Can you see them?  They are looking straight forward, heads held high, each step taken with purpose and increasing hope. In the same breath that the narrator tells of the bold Israelites, he also tells of the Egyptians gathering all their army and warriors to take back what they now realize they are losing. The Israelites are a large nation, and the Egyptians have a large and fierce army.  Desperate, bold escapees vs. experienced, mighty warriors.  Sounds like a great movie.

Then I read the very next verse:  “As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them.  They were terrified…”  And it hit me.  I am just like them and they are just like me.  I have those moments when I am courageous and seem to be taking on the world without any hesitations.  I am focused, head held high and filled with hope.  Enter in:  Life.  Perhaps it’s an illness, or a loss of job.  Maybe I’ve been betrayed, or I failed.  It doesn’t make much difference what has happened, the change in my soul is there.  I am overwhelmed by what faces me and I am afraid.  Just like when I see a spider, I’m afraid I will lose somehow.

Moses gave wisdom to the Israelites and to me.  Exodus 14:13-14 says,
     “…Do not be afraid.  Stand firm and you will see
      the deliverance the Lord will bring you today.  The
      Egyptians you see today you will never see again.
      The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be
      still.”
I don’t need to be overwhelmed, and I’m not to be afraid.  I don’t have to know how to figure it all out, I’m not the one who has to worry about that. Somehow, in His own way, God will deliver me.  He is the one who fights for me!  Reading on in Exodus 14, I read verse 15 and it says, “Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on.'” I may not know exactly how to overcome what is before me.  On my own, I may not have the wisdom, nor the experience to win the battle I am about to face, but God says to keep moving: take a step forward, don’t be frozen, choose an action, and trust the Lord Almighty to fight for you.

Spiders are insignificant in the list of all my fears.  Truth be told, all my fears are as insignificant as those spiders.  As a child of God, as His Princess, He will deliver me.  He fights for me.  I need to stand firm in Him, and keep moving forward.