War Zone- Week 4 Tactics of the Enemy vs. Strategies of the Believer (Fear Part 2)

We will continue studying the tactic of fear. Just a reminder: Merriam Webster online dictionary defines fear as: an unpleasant often strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger; anxious concern. 

Today we will be digging into the Word to take a closer look at another common fear that Christians face today.   

Fear of Failure.  

Example 1: Regulations for the Army of Israel. Deuteronomy 20:8, “Then the officers will also say, ‘Is anyone here afraid or worried? If you are, you may go home before you frighten anyone else.’  (NLT) 

In the regulations God gave Moses and the Children of Israel, He included a rule about fearful soldiers.  If anyone was afraid or worried, they were to go home so that their fear would not impact the rest of the army.   

God knew that if one man began to fear it would spread like leaven in a batch of dough.  The fearful one would begin to verbally express his fear and others would grab hold and keep the fear wagon rolling.  Nipping it in the bud was the only way to prevent this from happening. 

Example 2: Gideon’s Army.  Judges 7:3, Therefore, tell the people, ‘Whoever is timid or afraid may leave this mountain and go home.’” So 22,000 of them went home, leaving only 10,000 who were willing to fight. (NLT) 

Here again we see that any soldier who was afraid was to return home and not go into battle.  The fear the soldiers faced was fear of failure.  They knew that if they failed to win the battle it meant death for them, and greater hardship for their families.  The Midianites would not take kindly to being challenged.  

In our lives we might not be facing the army of another nation on the battlefield, however, we are facing the forces of darkness, and our enemy, like theirs, is relentless.   

Fear of failure is a tactic of the enemy that he still uses today.  We can face fear of failure in every area of life. Fear about starting a new job, or educational pursuit. Fear of not raising our children correctly.  Fear of entering marriage (maybe divorce is common in our family).  

The strategy we will use against Fear of Failure is Remembering.  (See the recurring theme?) 

1. Remember the everyone fails.   

When we face fear of failing, we need to remember that every person who was successful failed a few times in the process.   

Babe Ruth once said, “Don’t let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game.”  

“Ruth has been called an American original, undoubtedly the game’s first great slugger and the most celebrated athlete of his time.”i  However, he was not without failures (strike outs).  In his career Babe Ruth hit 714 home runs.  In that same span of time, he struck out 1,330 times.  Yet, the Baseball Hall of Fame calls him The Sultan of Swat.   

“It wasn’t that he hit more home runs than anybody else,” said 1976 Spink Award winner Red Smith, “he hit them better, higher, farther, with more theatrical timing and a more flamboyant flourish.”ii 

What caused Babe Ruth to be remembered as one of the games first great sluggers is that he did not give up when he failed but pressed on.  When he struck out, he remembered the feeling of hitting a home run and swung again.   

Bottom line: Everyone fails!  But the victory goes to those who get back up and keep swinging! Proverbs 24:16, For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again, But the wicked stumble in time of disaster and collapse. (AMP) 

2. Remember that failure is not final.  

In Luke 22 we read the account of the betrayal and arrest of Jesus.  In this chapter we also read about the failure of Peter.  As we read in Fear part 1, we know that during one of Jesus’ darkest moments as a man, Peter, one of his closest friends denied he knew Jesus three times.  Peter who had just defended Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane by cutting off the servant of the High Priest’s ear has within hours denied that he even knew Jesus.   

“After His resurrection, Jesus specifically named Peter as one who needed to hear the good news (Mark 16:7). And, repeating the miracle of the large catch of fish, Jesus made a special point of forgiving and restoring Peter and re-commissioning him as an apostle (John 21:6, 15-17).”iii 

In Acts 2, as we read the events of the Day of Pentecost, we see that Peter was the primary spokesman and because of that one sermon, about 3,000 new believers were added to the church.  Then in Acts 3 we read that after healing a lame man on the way to the temple, Peter preached another sermon after which about 5,000 came to the Lord.  Finally, in Acts 4 we find the once fearful Peter preaching in front of the Sanhedrin, (Jewish High Court) with no fear but empowered by Holy Spirit.   

Peter did not allow his failure to destroy him, rather he learned from his mistakes and got up to swing again.  Peter was foundational in the building of the church.   

Bottom Line: Failure is not final.  God is faithful to keep us and restore us! 2 Timothy 2:13, If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny who he is. (NLT) 

3. Remember we can learn from our failures.  

Learning from our failures is the key to our growth and development.  We must remember God is not surprised by our failures and He is in the business of using everything to make us like Christ. 

If we allow them, or failures teach us to: 

a. Persevere  

Philippians 3:13-14, Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.  

We, like Paul, must learn to push through whatever we face so we can make it to the end of the race.  When we fall (fail) in this race of life, we must get back up and run on.  Those who fall and stay down do not receive the reward, the prize is reserved for those who run to the end.   

I read a story about John Stephen Akhwari, the 1968 Olympic marathon runner from Tanzania.  Akhwari was never likely to win the men's marathon, however, he was further hindered from winning by an accident caused by his succumbing to cramps due to the altitude. Because of the cramps, he slowed his pace and was shoved to the ground by a group of runners all jockeying for position.  The results of his fall left him with a gashed and dislocated knee and an injured shoulder.  He refused to leave the race, however, and after receiving medical treatment on the racetrack he pushed on.  By the time he reached the finish line the medals had already been handed out.   

When he was asked why he'd pressed on, he said, “My country did not send me 5,000 miles to start the race,” he said. “They sent me 5,000 miles to finish the race.” 

The same holds true for us dear friends.  God did not put us on earth just to start our Christian walk, but to finish it.  

b. Depend on God. 

In Joshua 6 we read about the fall of Jericho.  We know that Joshua had sent two spies into Jericho to see what the Israelites were up against.  However, Joshua did not rely on his own military prowess, but sought God for the battle plan.  What resulted is one of the most unorthodox battle plans of all time.  Walking around a city silently (a miracle for so many people) for 6 days. Then walking 7 times on the 7th day.  Again, silently until the last lap.  On the last lap the priest blew the trumpets and the people shouted and the walls of that great city crumbled to the ground.   

Joshua knew from watching the Israelites try to take the Promised Land in their own strength that going against Jericho without God’s leading would end in failure (see Deut. 1).  He knew he needed to depend on the Lord of Heaven’s Army to formulate the plan and lead the charge.  We too must learn to depend on God for our next move and each move after that.  He alone sees the big picture and knows which steps we must take to be successful for His kingdom. 

c. To have compassion for the failures of others. 

Jeremiah was called the weeping prophet because of his compassion and broken heart over the rebellious failings of nation of Israel.   

“The people in Jeremiah's day had turned away from God, and they refused to repent. They had no desire to return to God, though they had every opportunity to do so. Instead, the people deliberately charged ahead in their sinful practices like a war horse charging into battle, having no idea of the dangers involved.”iv 

Jeremiah 8:18-22, Jeremiah Grieves for His People 

18 My joy is gone; grief is upon me; my heart is sick within me. 

19 Behold, the cry of the daughter of my people from the length and breadth of the land: 

“Is the Lord not in Zion? Is her King not in her?” “Why have they provoked me to anger with their carved images and with their foreign idols?” 

20 “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.” 

21 For the wound of the daughter of my people is my heart wounded; I mourn, and dismay has taken hold on me. 

22 Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then has the health of the daughter of my people not been restored? (ESV) 

We must never allow ourselves to forget the grace God has exhibited toward us in our failures by becoming cold or callused toward others because of their failures.  Like Jeremiah, we must learn to be compassionate toward others who are struggling.  We do not condone sin; however, we do not condemn others for their failures or sin either.   

John 8:7, records the very meaningful words of Jesus, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” (ESV) 

Bottom Line: Our mistakes are life lessons that can spur us to preserver, into deeper dependence on God, and can develop in us compassion for the failures of others.  Romans 8:28, And we know [with great confidence] that God [who is deeply concerned about us] causes all things to work together [as a plan] for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His plan and purpose. (AMP) 

In conclusion, we know that everyone fails, failure is not final, and our failures teach us valuable lessons if we let them.  Romans 8:1, 38-39, There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (ESV) When we find ourselves fearing failure we need to remember that even if we do fail, God does not condemn us, and nothing can separate us from His love.   

Works Cited: 

i https://baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/ruth-babe 

ii https://baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/ruth-babe 

iii https://www.gotquestions.org/life-Peter.html 

iv https://www.lifeway.com/en/articles/sermon-let-your-heart-be-broken-jeremiah-8-9