When Old Fears Creep Back
It is not uncommon for fears you have defeated to resurface. God chose Moses to lead the Israelites out of captivity. After confronting Pharaoh in Exodus chapter 5, Pharaoh punished the Israelites by refusing to supply them with straw to make bricks, forcing them to work harder. Consequently, when Moses tried to encourage the Israelites with God’s word, ‘they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and harsh labour’ (Exodus 6:9).
The Lord commanded Moses to confront Pharaoh again. But old fears resurfaced when Moses meditated on how discouraged the Israelites were. In Exodus 6:12, we see Moses defining himself as a man of ‘uncircumcised lips’ when the Lord commands him to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go.
Exodus 6:12, ESV: But Moses said to the Lord, “Behold, the people of Israel have not listened to me. How then shall Pharaoh listen to me, for I am of uncircumcised lips?”
A quote from hermeneutics.stackexchange.com digs into the meaning of ‘uncircumcised lips’:
Moses’ lips were uncircumcised because Moses thought they were unfit for service to God. They were uncircumcised because they were unclean due to sin, which can be seen and heard in his speech deformity… Moses believed his lips were sinful, unclean and generally unfit for service to God due to his trouble with speech and thus described his lips as “uncircumcised”.
Moses defined himself as a man with ‘uncircumcised lips’ after the Lord had already promised to be with the mouth of Moses in Exodus 4:11-12, and even gave him Aaron to do the speaking on his behalf. But unfortunately, this text reveals what we know too well. Fears that we overcame in the past can pop up again. Moses was overwhelmed by discouragement because of his previous experience with the Israelites; they did not listen to him. Their refusal to listen to him ignited the fear Moses had expressed to God in the past. Even though God had helped Moses overcome the fear of lack of eloquence, he walked right back into that fear when God sent him to confront Pharoah again.
The obstacle of discouragement is a peculiar one. Discouragement is an obstacle that breaks people’s motivation. It is an obstacle that can cause a person to share great ideas and plans but prevent them from taking any steps. You can dream all you want, but discouragement will ensure that none of those dreams become a reality. Discouragement fuels fear. If we think of fire, fire is fuelled by many kinds of combustible materials, including paper, oils, wood, gases, fabrics, liquids, plastics and rubber. But we know that fires’ most significant fuel is gas. If you light a fire in a room full of gas, you will get an explosion.
In the same way, fear has many fuels, including anxiety, lies, comparison and discouragement. But fears’ most significant fuel is discouragement. So if you want to introduce fear into someone’s life, discouragement is the weapon to use. And this is Satan’s favourite weapon.
Discouragement hits us harder when others around us are discouraged too. For example, the ‘broken spirit’ of the Israelites described in Exodus 6:9 prevented them from being encouraged by the words of Moses.
According to Proverbs 17:22b KJV, ‘a broken spirit drieth the bones’.
The bones are what essentially holds us up. We can’t function without our bones. When bones weaken, our motion significantly deteriorates. Dried up bones are useless and indicate that someone is completely immobile. Asking an immobile person to take a step forward is asking them to do what they cannot do. This is where the Israelites found themselves. They could not move forward. They did not have the heart to believe Moses because discouragement and disappointment were all they knew.
The people’s discouragement brought Moses’ fears back to the surface. God continues to command Moses to speak to Pharaoh to let His people go (Exodus 6:11). Moses responds with his critical fear ‘I am a man of uncircumcised lips’. Let’s take a step back and analyse the interaction between Moses and the Lord. One thing to note is that the commandments of the Lord challenge our fears right in the face. God will not withdraw His commandment because of our fears. Instead, His commandment should drive out our fears. This is precisely what happens in the life of Moses. God keeps repeating His command, and Moses ends up facing Pharaoh once again in chapter 7.
As rightly quoted by Warren Wiersbe, ‘Self-pity is our worst enemy, and if we yield to it, we can never do anything wise in this world’. God did not leave Moses to wallow in self-pity. Self-pity is something that we must resist. We are here to serve Christ, not ourselves!
This is precisely why God simply repeats His command to Moses. God doesn’t dwell on Moses, highlighting his ‘uncircumcised lips’. God simply repeats His command. This was enough to get Moses to face Pharoah once again. Likewise, as Christians, meditate on the scriptures when discouragement attacks your heart. Let the power in the living word of God drive out discouragement.
The remedy for discouragement is the Word of God. When you feed your heart and mind with its truth, you regain your perspective and find renewed strength.
– Helen Keller
Joshua 1:9 Haven't I commanded you: be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.
According to this verse, the presence of God should drive out our old fears when they creep back up. And, oh, they most likely will creep back. But God has promised to be with us wherever we go; let’s hold onto that and allow God to do what He wants to do. So, when old fears creep back up, let God’s word drive them out.
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