680) I have battled fear my entire life. I wish I could say that it was solely because of spiders or snakes but, honestly, very few of my fears are of this nature. Because of this, I have sometimes chosen the “known,” even when it’s not the best or even terrible circumstances, over the “unknown.” I have probably missed out on several things that would have been a blessing and a gift because of fear.

Knowing myself and how I tick allows me to read Numbers 13-14 with compassionate eyes. Here we have the 12 spies of Israel giving the report about what they found in the land of Canaan, the land God has promised them. 10 gave a negative report while 2 gave an encouraging one. The children of Israel latch on to the report of the 10 rather than the 2. Perhaps it was because of their fear. I can understand this, but God is clear that He was not happy with their choice, regardless of their reasons. He wanted these people to reflect on all the times He’s taken care of them and then act based on this, but their fear blinded them to these.

There is bondage in fear, but God’s faithfulness to us through the years can shatter these chains, if you let it. God’s perfect love casts out all fear.