Fightings and Fears

One day recently while reading a fictional story, I encountered the sentence, “Don’t try to fight alone.” As I moved on through the paragraph, I realized what I had heard in my mind was, “Try not to fight alone,” and I knew that was a very different idea. It’s not unlike the line in a Casting Crowns song that I often misremember as “You’re on your own, keep holding on…”

Isn’t that how we tend to live though? “Look out for yourself; take care of number one; God helps those who help themselves…” It sounds good until you start comparing it to Scripture.

• “Let him who walks in darkness and has no light trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God” (Isaiah 50:10 ESV). 
• “For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken” (Psalm 62:5-6). 
• “The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent” (Exodus 14:14). 
• “For the Lord your God is He who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory” (Deuteronomy 20:4). 

It is not God’s intent for us to fight alone or to hang on by our own strength. Rather, He will do the fighting and will hold onto us when we have no strength of our own. Trying to stand alone is what often leads to fear. We recognize that we are weak and we need someone bigger and stronger. Edward Welch writes in Running Scared:

“Search Scripture and find that our fears are not trivial to God. ‘Do not be afraid’ are not the words of a flesh-and-blood friend, a mere human like yourself. They are not the hollow words of a fellow passenger on a sinking ship, who has no experience in shipwrecks, can’t swim, and has no plan. These words are more like those of the captain who says, ‘Don’t be afraid. I know what to do.’ When the right person speaks these words you might be comforted. Remember, ‘Do not be afraid’ are the words of the One who can match speech with action. He is the sovereign King who really is in control. The efficacy of the words is directly related to the authority, power, and love of the One speaking them” (62).

Whether the command is “Fear not,” “Be still,” “Wait,” or “Don’t fight,” we can trust the authority of the One who is in control of every situation. He will fight for us. And because He is a good Father, He also gives us the other members of His Body to walk with us through the hills and valleys of life. We don’t need to walk alone or to fight alone.

I can’t help but think of Matt Redman’s song “Never Once,” which is a great reminder of God’s faithfulness: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1bXG4WIesA

“If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me” (Psalm 139:9-10).

© 2016 Dawn Rutan.