Behold, the LORD thy God hath set the land before thee: go up and possess it, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath said unto thee; fear not, neither be discouraged. Deuteronomy 1:20
Suggested Scripture Reading Deuteronomy 1
The area was known as a graveyard for preachers. It just seemed that no church could be planted in that Gospel hardened area. There was sin on each street corner. False doctrine was taught in the churches that were there. There was a spiritual apathy among the people of the town. Yet, there was a little group of believers felt that God was leading them to plant a testimony for His glory in that cold area. They began to meet in homes and soon moved into the meeting room at the fire hall. Each week they would set up chairs and have church beside the fire trucks. The work was hard, slow and sometimes discouraging.
If those people had been like the Jews in Deuteronomy chapter one they might have never started that church. God had led the Israelites from Egypt and was ready to take them into the Promised Land of Canaan. Instead of being obedient they sent out spies to “spy out the land.” (Numbers 13:17) This was not a bad thing to do in itself, but it seemed they went looking for a reason why they could not take the land. Moses encouraged them to be obedient. “Behold, the LORD thy God hath set the land before thee: go up and possess it, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath said unto thee; fear not, neither be discouraged.” (Deut. 1:20) He knew that they would become discouraged if they counted the cost too closely and failed to see the leading of the Lord.”
Anything the Lord calls us to do is going to be a challenge. If we examine the challenge and fail to see the Lord’s leading we will grow discouraged every time. Fear not to do the hard things that the Lord challenges you to do. He goes before you to do it for you.
That church is still going strong for the Lord’s glory in a cold New England village. They have prayed, labored and persisted in spite of the discouraging times. They heard the words of Moses, “Fear not, neither be discouraged. . . . The Lord has set the land before thee; go up and possess it.
“Fear not,” to do the difficult, “neither be discouraged.” God has set the task before you.
[podcast]https://lifeabovefear.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Fear-Not-To-Do-The-Difficult-Life-Above-Fear.mp3[/podcast]
