Don’t Run

Then Moses answered, "But behold, 

they will not believe me or listen to my voice,

for they will say, 'The Lord did not appear to you.'" 

The Lord said to him, "What is that in your hand?" 

He said, "A staff." 

And he said, "Throw it on the ground." 

So he threw it on the ground, 

and it became a serpent, 

and Moses ran from it. 

But the Lord said to Moses, 

"Put out your hand and catch it by the tail"

—so he put out his hand and caught it, 

and it became a staff in his hand— 

"that they may believe that the Lord, 

the God of their fathers, 

the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, 

and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you."

‭‭Exodus‬ ‭4:1-5‬ ‭ESV‬‬

~~~

I started the book “Living Courageously: You Can Face Anything, Just Do It Afraid” by Joyce Meyers yesterday. She speaks of fear, and encourages us not to run from fear. Instead we are to face it, courageously, and ultimately overcome it.

When Moses threw his staff on he ground it turn into a snake, “and Moses ran from it” (see Exodus 4:4). He was afraid, fearful, and potentially terrified. How could this be, a staff turning into a snake? And, aren’t some snakes poisonous?!

But God simply said, “put out your hand and catch it by the tail”, to which Moses, still fearful of the snake, did. He did it afraid. It’s not like his fear just disappeared, however he gained the courage to face it. Looked the snake in the eye (well, maybe not in the eye), snatched it by the tail and overcame his fear. 

You cannot experience victory over your fears if you’re running from them. Fear has a way of chasing after us, causing us to hide and be rendered ineffective. But this doesn’t have to be the end result. May God grant you the courage that you need to face your fears today, and everyday... and may you overcome them by His power and might.

“I know the Lord is always with me.

I will not be shaken, 

for he is right beside me.”

Psalm 16:8 NLT