Big Scary Things

While my son was still a toddler, he was afraid of dogs. It likely came from the fact that I owned a Siberian Husky at the time, and the dog was much larger than my son. When the dog turned suddenly and accidentally bumped my son causing him to fall, this added to his fear of dogs. The Husky was always gentle with the children, but the sheer size scared my son. I tried to convince him that the dog was gentle and kind. I told him the dog loved him. No one could persuade him that the large dog he saw was not dangerous. It took getting a miniature Schnauzer puppy to help him overcome his fear of dogs.

Experience has shown me that the challenges in life that appear insurmountable cause us the most fear. When there is a cancer diagnosis or more bills than money. When we face uncertainty, and no one else believes in our dreams and plans for the future. These things look gigantic. They appear like they will gobble us up. a

I recall one time that I told a pastor about an area of ministry I desired to develop to help a specific group of people. He responded by laughing at the very idea. It seemed like an impossibility to offer the assistance needed. While I could not form a support group for people with that specific need in the church, I did choose to provide support and encouragement to them apart from the church. It can be intimidating to start something believing that you have no support system. We must remember that God will support us in whatever He asks us to do.

Living in God’s shadow gives us the ability to have a different perspective of the giants that we face. When my son was so fearful of my big dog, he would only go near the dog if he were with me. He knew that I had a greater size than the dog, and he believed I could control the dog. When we live close to God, we recognize that He is significantly larger than any problem, criticism, or adventure we will face. Our ability to deal with the situation will be directly proportional to our reliance on the fact that God is bigger than the circumstance. God allows big, scary things to enter our lives to grow our confidence in Him.

Expressing the fact that we believe that God is bigger than the circumstance we face is not always effortless or fashionable. Scripture tells us about when the Israelites were preparing to invade that land that God had promised them. (Numbers 13-14) Attempting to understand where they were going and what they would face, they sent twelve spies into the land. The men chosen as spies inspected the area as they traveled through it. When they returned, the spies all agreed that it was fertile and prosperous land. They all agreed that some of the people in the area were very tall. Their belief in God’s abilities is where the division among the spies began. Ten of the spies said the people who live in the land are too tall and powerful, and even God cannot help us with this problem. The other two spies believed that God could do anything and encouraged them to follow God’s command to invade the land.

The Israelites chose to listen to the majority and refused to enter the land promised to them. Once they refused to invade, God gave the command to return to wandering in the desert. The people then presumed they could resist God’s second order to return to the desert and instead invade the Promised Land. This presumption that they could pick and chose which commands to follow caused them to lose the battle.

This story illustrates the fact that there is a difference between faith and presumption. If the Israelites acted in faith, they would not have allowed the ten spies to dissuade them from following what God had formerly commanded. They chose to hold back in fear. When God said to wander in the desert for a while longer, they decided it was time to invade. They presumed that God would be with them and fight for them even though they had disobeyed Him. Faith is essential to living in God’s shadow. Acting on presumption tends to move us out of God’s shadow.

We can only live in God’s shadow if we follow His directives. We cannot choose which ones to obey or follow them only if they are comfortable and convenient. Our understanding of how to apply God’s commands to our lives will increase as we spend time living in His shadow.

When God asks us to do things outside our comfort zone, He expects us to trust Him. He knows the matter is big and scary to us. He understands we do not see how things will work out. Sometimes the big, frightening circumstance that we face is God redirecting us.

Approximately a month after I graduated from college, I became the pastor of a small church. My training and interests were in foreign mission work. At that time, the denomination I worked for required two years of service as a pastor to be considered for missions work. I thought I was pastoring to fill that requirement. God had me stay at that church for six years. During those six years, God allowed various circumstances to prevent me from going into foreign missions. Eventually, God redirected me to the area where I currently live.

I have learned that God will not send us into any circumstance without giving us the courage and endurance we need for the situation. This grit will usually come on a minute-by-minute basis, as it is required. Living in God’s shadow is not a matter of lacking fear of anything. Instead, it is the ever-increasing confidence that God is in control and will be with us, providing us strength through each situation.