If You Are Afraid

Hey, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada, and thanks for spending these couple of minutes with me today. You know, I’ve got a great friend in Stephanie Hubach. She’s the mother of a disabled child. She heads up the special needs outreach of our denomination at Presbyterian Church of America. Well, Stephanie has known about my challenges with pain for some time now. And not long ago she thought of me when she was reading in the book of Judges about Gideon. 

Stephanie wrote to tell me how she was particularly struck by this section where it says, “Now the camp of Midian lay below him in the valley. During the night the Lord said to Gideon, ‘Get up, go down against the camp, because I am going to give it into your hands. If you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah and listen to what they are saying. Afterward, you will be encouraged to attack the camp.’” 

And then, after she shared that portion of Scripture, she wrote me the most amazing insight. It was short, it was sweet, but it was so powerful – at least for me. Because Stephanie told me, “Joni, I guess what really caught my attention was the phrase ‘if you are afraid.’ Because God did not chide Gideon for his fears; I mean that was a big army down there, but God didn’t scold him. Instead, God anticipated those fears. And the Lord seemed to acknowledge that, in Gideon’s fallen human frailty, Gideon was going to be afraid. But instead of dismissing Gideon’s fear or making him feel badly about it, God provided a way out – a way of encouragement for him.”

And oh boy, did that speak to me. ’Cause I am so grateful that with this disability of mine, God knows my frame; he remembers that I am made out of dust. He knows; he anticipates the fact that I’m going to be afraid. He understands there are times when I dread the fact that my pain medication is wearing off, and I can’t do anything about it for another five or six hours, you know what I mean? 

I told Stephanie that, and she replied with a fun story; she said, “You know, I used to work at the Helping Up Mission in Baltimore when I was a teenager, and I taught the preschool class. And each day they had to memorize a little Bible verse, and they received a ticket they could use at a mission store. Well, one day the verse was ‘He cares for you’ from 1 Peter 5. And this little girl, whose family situation was pretty rough, came up to me and proudly recited the verse, ‘He’s scared for you.’ But to me, that sounded like an accurate translation given her circumstances, that little girl’s. So Jesus took on her fear and she didn’t have to. So I did not hesitate to give her the ticket for memorizing the verse.” 

Well, I love that. He’s scared for you. You know, back in Christmas we celebrated the glorious gift of God with us. Immanuel, God is withus. And he’s the Prince of Peace; the one who brings peace to our troubling circumstances that cast out all fear. And our Wonderful Counselor – because he isa counselor who’s really wonderful, who’s really great, who really understands. He anticipates our fear, and he provides a way out by inviting us to cast it all on Jesus because no one cares about our fears like him. Friend, at times I live in dread of the pain that looms on the horizon. And maybe you struggle with pain, too, or other circumstances that are challenging. Well, “if you are afraid,” be encouraged. Remember Gideon. In God’s grace, he foresees that, and he will always provide a way out when you are afraid. And I have Stephanie Hubach and that story of Gideon to thank for that very special reminder. Until next time, this is Joni on Joni and Friends.

© Joni and Friends