Mustering Courage in the Face of Fear

When people hear about our overseas ministry travels, they sometimes ask us, “Aren’t you afraid?” They refer to our traveling in countries where we don’t understand the language, we’re targets for pickpockets in crowded trains and train stations, we’re eating food prepared in unsanitary conditions, we’re entrusting our lives to drivers who follow a different standard of safety rules than ours, and more.

Okay, I’ll admit occasional fear

I remember when thieves stole a volunteer’s purse while our team ate in a Hungarian restaurant. She’d placed it on the floor beside her chair (never a wise thing to do in those settings), and they nabbed it without anyone on our team noticing. Talk about stealthy. Her purse contained her passport, her ID, and her credit cards. We was scheduled to return to Canada within a few hours, but she had to remain in Budapest for two additional days until the embassy processed her new passport.

I feared for this senior woman’s well-being. The thieves had taken her credit cards, so they knew she would now be carrying cash. Would they strike again?

Overseas travel can have its scary moments, but really, how’s that different from life in North America? No matter where we live, fearful things happen—a doctor’s diagnosis flips our world upside down, an accident injures a loved one, a spouse walks out. The list is endless and leaves us facing a choice—let the fear consume us or muster courage and rise above it.

How can we muster courage in the face of fear?

Here are some verses that encouraged me recently. They’re from the story of Balak commanding Balaam to curse the Israelites. God, however, told Balaam to do otherwise. This is the message He gave Balaam concerning His people:

²¹No misfortune is in his plan for Jacob;
no trouble is in store for Israel.
For the LORD their God is with them;
he has been proclaimed their king.
²²God brought them out of Egypt;
for them he is as strong as a wild ox.
²³No curse can touch Jacob;
no magic has any power against Israel” (Numbers 23:21-23).

Reread these verses, one phrase at a time.

How do they apply to us?

God has brought you out of Egypt—He’s freed you from the slavery of sin. He is with you and is strong on your behalf. No curse can touch you; no magic has power against you.

This doesn’t mean bad things won’t happen, but it means that God’s presence will never leave you and He has promised ultimate victory despite the stuff that the enemy throws our way.

How can we muster courage in the face of fear? By remembering that, no matter what happens to us, we are victors because God is the king of our lives. He reigns. No harm can touch us unless He allows it. And if that happens, we’re still in His care and He will somehow use it for our good and His glory.