Fear Not: Where Are You Looking?

"Fear not." It is one of the most repeated commands in all of Scripture. I take that to mean two things. Fear is a common problem, the kind of thing all of us face, and it is important enough that God keeps returning to it. So the question I want to sit with is not, "Do you ever feel fear?" Of course we do. The real question is this: what do you do when fear shows up?

A few weeks ago I heard a preacher say something that has stayed with me and genuinely challenged me. He said, "Fear is so dangerous because it leads to unbelief." Then he added, "Complaining is the language of fear and unbelief," and, "We complain because we cannot see Jesus in the situation." That raised an honest question for me. If that is true, then every time I complain, it might be revealing something deeper. Complaining might be a red flag. So I began to ask myself, "Am I complaining because I cannot see Jesus in this situation?" And that question took me straight to Scripture.

A whole generation that could not enter

Hebrews puts it bluntly. "So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief" (Hebrews 3:19). This is talking about Israel. They were delivered out of Egypt, yet they never entered the promise. Why not? Not for lack of power. Not for lack of provision. It was unbelief. I find that sobering.

So let us go back to the story. By the time Israel reaches the edge of the promised land, God has already delivered them from Egypt, split the Red Sea, destroyed Pharaoh's army, fed them day after day, and guided them with his own presence. Then twelve spies go into the land, and they all see the same thing: abundance, opportunity, and giants. But ten come back afraid. Only two, Joshua and Caleb, say, "We can surely take the land." Same land. Same giants. Same promise. A completely different vision. Some saw the obstacles. Some saw God. And that is so often the dividing line between fear and faith.

Fear does not stay still

Fear spirals. In Numbers 13 and 14 the people move from concern, to fear, to unbelief, and finally to outright rebellion. They begin saying, "Let us go back to Egypt." "Let us appoint another leader." "Let us stone Joshua and Caleb." Fear had turned into rebellion. Numbers 14:9 ties the two together when Joshua and Caleb plead, "Do not rebel, and do not fear." Fear and rebellion are linked, because underneath fear is a quiet accusation. Fear says, "God is not trustworthy here."

And this did not happen all at once. Scripture says they tested God ten times. At the Red Sea they cried, "Why did you bring us here to die?" When there was no water, they complained. When there was no food, they complained. They made a golden calf. They craved Egypt and rejected God's provision. And at the last test, they refused to enter the promise. Step by step, they practiced unbelief until it became who they were.

That makes me wonder. If they had trusted God in the small tests, would they have been ready for the big one? I think the answer is yes. Daily trust builds spiritual strength. So the question turns back on me. Am I trusting God in the smaller things? And if I am, then why am I complaining?

The tragedy of forgetting

Here is what breaks my heart in the story. They forgot. They forgot the sea splitting. They forgot the miracles. They forgot the provision. They forgot the very presence of God that had gone before them. And forgetting fuels fear. Remembering, on the other hand, strengthens faith. It is worth pausing here and asking yourself a simple question: what is one way God has been faithful to you in the past?

Now set Israel beside Abraham. Romans says of him, "He did not waver through unbelief" (Romans 4:20). Abraham was not pretending. He saw his old age. He saw the impossible conditions. But he trusted the promise more than he trusted what his eyes were telling him. That is the heart of it. Faith is not denial. Faith is trusting God more than what you see.

Where Israel failed, Jesus succeeded

This next part is essential, and it changes everything. Where Israel failed, Jesus succeeded. Israel was tested in the wilderness and fell. Jesus was tested in the wilderness and trusted his Father completely (Matthew 4). So the message of this whole story is not, "Try harder not to be afraid." The message is far better than that. You are united to the One who never failed and who will not fail you. That is the gospel. Our confidence was never meant to rest in our own ability to muster up courage. It rests in him.

So lately the question I have been asking in hard moments is simply, "Jesus, where are you in this?" Not, "Why is this happening?" but, "Where are you?" I felt this recently facing cataract surgery. My mind started to spiral, the way it does. But asking that one question changed the focus. It gives God the opportunity to answer. "Fear not, for I am with you" (Isaiah 41:10). "I will never leave you" (Hebrews 13:5). "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble" (Psalm 46:1). Sometimes the answer comes as peace. Sometimes as a promise, or a person, or a quiet reminder. But the simple act of asking where he is moves my eyes off the giant and back onto him.

Lament is not the same as complaint

I want to clarify one thing, because it matters. Not all complaint is sin. There is a real difference between lament and the complaint of unbelief. Lament is honest, God-directed, and faith-seeking. The complaint of unbelief is distrustful, hopeless, and turned in on itself. Lament says, "God, I need you." Unbelief says, "God, I do not trust you."

We see lament all through the Psalms in David, the man after God's own heart. He poured out his heart to God again and again. "I pour out my complaint before him," he says in Psalm 142:2. But notice his pattern. After he has lamented fully and honestly, David shifts. He declares God to be his portion and his protector, and he puts his hope in God. He does not stay in the spiral. He laments his way back to trust.

So, where are you looking?

Here is the question I will leave you with. Where are you looking? At the giants, the walls, the fear? Or at God? Everyone sees the circumstances. That part is easy. But faith sees God in them, and that takes intentionality. Part of that intentionality is remembering. Sometimes faith is simply sanctified remembering.

So when fear rises, remember God's faithfulness. When complaint starts, refocus on Jesus. When the giants appear, look again. Because the same God who brought you out of Egypt is the God who will bring you into the promise.

Fear says, "What if God fails me?" Faith says, "What if God is closer than I realize?"