The Paralysis of Fear
Gettysburg Presbyterian Church
David C. Wright
Num. 13:1-3, 17-33; 14:1-4; Psalm 27
May 2, 2010

          In the movie, “Akeelah and the Bee,” 11 year-old Akeelah Anderson, an African-American girl from South Los Angeles, whose father is dead, and whose brother is running with gangs, is doing poorly in school.  Her principal challenges her to enter the school spelling bee as an alternative to detention.  She reluctantly accepts, and surprisingly wins!  She then decides to compete in the regional spelling bee.  But her mother had been opposed to the idea.  In one scene, she explains why.
          She says, “I want to tell you something.  Do you know why I didn’t want you to do the Bee?”
          “No,” replies Akeelah.
          “Cuz I saw that video of your’s and I saw there was one winner and 200 losers, and I didn’t want you to be one of those losers.”  Then she adds,
          “Did you know your momma went to college right after HS?”
          “No,” responds Akeelah.
          “I had a scholarship.  I was going to be a doctor.”
          “What happened?” asks Akeelah.
          “I just felt so out of place in that school.   I just thought that I was going to fail.  So before that happened I dropped out.  I don’t want to you do that same thing with this Bee.”
          How sad for that mother.  Her fear caused her to miss out on an amazing opportunity, and now fear almost caused her to oppose a wonderful opportunity for her daughter.  I wonder what affects fear is having on your life right now.  I think fear plays a far greater role in our lives than most of us are aware.
          One way to look at this morning’s Scripture lesson is to see how fear operates throughout the story.  The story takes place way back in Israel’s history, just a couple months after God miraculously delivered the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt.  They’ve just spent a little time wandering around the wilderness where God has provided them with food, water, and protection from their enemies.  Now they stand on the brink of entering the long-promised land of Canaan. We begin in Numbers 13:1
          The Lord said to Moses, 2‘Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites; from each of their ancestral tribes you shall send a man, every one a leader among them.’ 3So Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran, according to the command of the Lord, all of them leading men among the Israelites.
          17 Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said to them, ‘Go up there into the Negeb, and go up into the hill country, 18and see what the land is like, and whether the people who live in it are strong or weak, whether they are few or many, 19and whether the land they live in is good or bad, and whether the towns that they live in are unwalled or fortified, 20and whether the land is rich or poor, and whether there are trees in it or not. Be bold, and bring some of the fruit of the land.’ Now it was the season of the first ripe grapes.
          21 So they went up and spied out the land…25 At the end of forty days they returned from spying out the land. 26And they came to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the Israelites in the wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh; they brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. 27And they told him, ‘We came to the land to which you sent us; it flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. 28Yet the people who live in the land are strong, and the towns are fortified and very large; and besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there. 29The Amalekites live in the land of the Negeb; the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live by the sea, and along the Jordan.’
          30 But Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, ‘Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.’ 31Then the men who had gone up with him said, ‘We are not able to go up against this people, for they are stronger than we are.’ 32So they brought to the Israelites an unfavourable report of the land that they had spied out, saying, ‘The land that we have gone through as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants; and all the people that we saw in it are of great size. 33There we saw the Nephilim (the Anakites come from the Nephilim); and to ourselves we seemed like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.’
          14 Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night. 2And all the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron; the whole congregation said to them, ‘Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! 3Why is the Lord bringing us into this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become plunder; would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?’ 4So they said to one another, ‘Let us choose a leader, and go back to Egypt.’
          (Num. 13:1-3, 17-21a, 25-33; 14:1-4)
          Wow!  One day they are on the cusp of finally entering the land of Canaan, which God had promised to give them, and a few days later they are ready to pack it all in and head back to slavery in Egypt!  Let’s look at how fear operated to bring this about and how it operates to keep us from receiving God’s blessings, too!  Let’s begin by looking at some of the effects of fear.
          Twelve leaders are sent to Canaan to do a little recon.  The assumption is that Israel is going to take this land, because verse one says that God is giving it to them.  This mission is just to figure out the best way to do it.
          They go and do what they were instructed to do, traversing the land from South to North and East to West.  It was the middle of the summer, and they brought back samples of the wonderful produce of the land.  However, it’s interesting that they never refer to Canaan as “the promised land,” which is what it is usually called.  Instead it becomes “the land to which you (meaning Moses) sent us.”  In verse 27, the spies report on the good things they found- a fertile and productive land.  However, verse 28 begins a much longer negative report- that people who live in the land are strong, the towns are large and fortified, and the descendants of Anak (renowned for their great size) live there.  They also list all the other peoples who have settled there.  Apparently, this negative report stirred up the people, because we’re told that Caleb had to quiet them down.
          Caleb, one of the 12 spies, saw everything the others had seen, and yet his assessment is much more positive.  He argues that the Israelites are “well able” to overcome and take the land.  Then things begin to get weird, as fear takes over.  Ten of the spies begin to distort what they actually saw to support their position that they should not attempt to enter the land.  They say that the people of the new land are stronger than the Israelites.  They say that the land itself is bad- that it devours its inhabitants- probably meaning it is extremely inhospitable.  Further, they report seeing the Nephilim, a legendary race of god-like people, compared to which they felt like mere grasshoppers!
          Notice the effect of fear:  It actually shaped their perceptions of reality.  They became unable to see things as they really were.  We know from later history that the Hebrews were indeed well able to conquer this land.  But those who were afraid were unable to objectively see the facts.  Fear distorted their perception of reality. 
          Eighty years ago, the University of Notre Dame football team, under the leadership of legendary coach Knute Rockne, was preparing to play the USC Trojans.  Knowing that the Trojans had a far better team, Rockne devised a plan to intimidate them.  He recruited the largest men he could find in South Bend- each at least 6'5" and 300 pounds- fitted them with Notre Dame uniforms and had them march in ahead of the real players!  (This took place before college rosters were limited in number.)  When the USC players saw these giants march in, they forgot about their talent and undefeated record and mentally prepared themselves to lose.  And they did!  Even though none of the new “recruits” actually played, the intimidated Trojan players lost the game!  Fear had shaped their perception of the USC team.
          Fear may be shaping your perception of reality as you face the challenges of life.  Perhaps you are worried about retirement, a job change, a new boss, or a serious illness.  It is human nature to inflate an actual threat to us, a propensity which psychologist Albert Ellis labeled “awfulizing.”  We take a modest threat or challenge and become fixated on how “awful” the outcome might be!  Fear distorts our ability to accurately perceive the threat to us.  And that makes it almost impossible for us to determine a wise course of action.
          Secondly, fear can paralyze us into inaction.  In today’s Scripture, the nation was poised to enter the land God promised them but suddenly they became frozen by fear.  A number of years ago I took a group caving.  In one part of Sinnit cave, it is necessary to straddle a series of 20-30' deep crevices in order to get to the rest of the cave.  One woman, Lisa, became terrified by this.  Understand that there was nothing physically difficult about straddling the crevices- they were only a couple of feet wide, and Lisa was one of the tallest people in the group!  But Lisa’s fear paralyzed her, so I had to work with her literally each step of the way, instructing her exactly where to place each hand and each foot until we got through the challenge.  In the same way fear can paralyze us from taking necessary actions to get what we want or need.
          Third, fear can become contagious.  Remember what happened at the end of our Scripture lesson.  The people cried and wept.  And in their hysterical state they even idealized their lives in Egypt.  “Oh, let’s go be slaves again!” the cried.  The fear of the 10 spies spread throughout the entire camp leading to a total loss of perspective and a plan which made no sense. 
Rabbi Edwin Friedman has written extensively on the dynamics of congregational life.  He contends that fear or anxiety is a major problem for all kinds of churches, paralyzing them from taking action and warping their perspectives just like it does in individuals.  He says that one of the most important tasks of leadership in any group is managing fear and anxiety.  I think he is exactly right in his analysis.  As we see from the example of Israel, fear often becomes contagious and warps the judgment of congregations, keeping us from doing what God is calling us to do.  So, be on the lookout for fear as we move forward into God’s future for us at GPC, whatever that may be!
          And that leads us to look at the spiritual dimensions of fear, for fear is not just a psychological problem; it is also a spiritual problem.  God had promised the Hebrew people this land.  They failed to trust God because of their fear.  And their fear caused them to lose out on the blessings that God had promised to them.  It caused them to settle for less than God’s best for them.  Writer Max Lucado puts it this way, “Fear doesn’t want you to make the journey to the mountain.  If it can rattle you enough, fear will persuade you to take your eyes off the peaks and settle for a dull existence in the flatlands.”
          What blessings are you missing out on because of fear?  Maybe you miss out on a promising relationship, because you are afraid to ask someone out!  Maybe you miss out on a promising career, because you are afraid to try college or to seek a promotion where you work.  Maybe you miss out on the satisfaction of leadership, because you fear taking on those responsibilities.  Fear causes us to lose out on God’s best for us.
          Fear can also lead us to disobey God.  It caused the Israelites to doubt God’s promises and disobey God’s instructions to them to enter the land.  Even though they had recently experienced the miraculous intervention of God during their deliverance from Egypt, the most advanced and powerful civilization in the world, and even though God had sustained them on their journey through the wilderness, fear caused them to forget all of that.  Fear resulted in their disobedience to the Lord.
          Fear can also cause us to disobey God.  Sometimes young people, afraid of being rejected by their friends, become involved in cheating or using alcohol and drugs against their better judgment.  Adults, afraid of offending their colleagues, become engaged in unethical behavior at work or refuse to stand up for what is right.  If we don’t deal with fear, it can cause us to disobey God and become estranged from him.
          This story from Numbers reminds us that fear can warp our perceptions, paralyze us from acting, and become contagious in groups.   Spiritually, fear can steal our blessings and lead us to depart from God’s will for us.  It is a powerful force in all our lives.
          So what do we do about fear?  We can begin by admitting when part of our problem in a given situation is that we are afraid.  Then we can admit that we may not be seeing things clearly, just like the ten spies couldn’t clearly perceive what they were seeing in Canaan.  If you’re dealing with fear, you may wish to seek the assistance of a friend or counselor to help you more accurately assess your situation.  Then you’ll better know what you’re really up against, and can make wiser choices for your future.
          Then take time to remember God’s promises.  Psalm 27 would be a good place to start, “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?  The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Ps. 27:1)  Take time to remember how God has intervened in biblical times as well as in your own life in the past.  Allow God to quiet your spirit.  Pray.  Then take courage and do what you believe to be right or best.
          I close with a quote from Harry Emerson Fosdick, “Fear imprisons, faith liberates; fear paralyzes, faith empowers; fear disheartens, faith encourages; fear sickens, faith heals; fear makes useless, faith makes serviceable; and most of all, fear puts hopelessness at the heart of life, while faith rejoices in its God.”

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