Good morning everyone and welcome back to another morning with the masters where you devote yourself to the Lord daily with you. Good morning you guys. Good morning everyone. We are picking up on our live on purpose devotional and without further ado, we're just going to jump on in. Let's do it. Y'all. Today's devotional is titled a fear.

God can use and the verses judges seven verse three. It says announce to the army anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead. So 22,000 men left while 10,000 remained. I believe there are two kinds of fear. One kind says, OK God, I get what you want me to do. And even though this scares me.

I'm going to trust you to see me through. That's the kind of fear God can use. The other kind of fear says, OK God, I get what you want me to do. But no way. I'm out of here. Clearly that's not the kind of fear God will use. Let me give you an example. Both kinds of fear show up in the story of Gideon in judges seven.

Earlier God had convinced Gideon who was not exactly a model of bravery that he was the man to lead Israel into battle against the media nights. So Gideon rounded up 32,000 men.

You have too many men God said then the Lord said to tell anyone who trembles with fear to go home and 22,000 thought nope, no way or out of here. Isn't it crazy that what disqualified them was fear yet Gideon himself was afraid. So what was the difference.

I believe it was the willingness to be used by God even in the face of fear. Later after God again thin Gideon's army down to only 300 men. Gideon himself was still afraid.

300 men against an enemy army that was too big to count. We'd understand if Gideon ran away, right? But he didn't. God stepped in and reassured Gideon by showing him just how afraid the enemy was of him.

Gideon then led his men to the battle. A battle God had already won for them. Do you see the two different kinds of fear.

22,000 men gave in to their fear. They missed out on the victory that was waiting for them because they were unwilling to face that fear. But Gideon entrusted his fears to God and God was able to work with his fears and show him a miraculous victory.

The Lord doesn't fault us for having fears. In fact, he's more than willing to work with our fears and lead us to the victory that's waiting on the other side of them. The real question then is, are we and our fears willing to work with God?

Yeah, as you're reading that devotional, I was trying to track with it and try to like, but at the same time, I'm like, listening, I'm also like processing. I'm like, hmm, where have I felt this? And then when you said that line that those men gave in to their fear, and that was the difference because it's almost like you're allowed to be afraid, but you can't give into your fear and like stop you from having trust, having faith or acting.

But you can still act or have faith or have trust in the presence of a moment of being afraid or fear. And I really like that because I feel like sometimes we feel like we just need to put on this hat that's just like, oh, I'm not afraid of anything.

Let's go. You got to dig jack yourself up like you go to the gym. And I'm like, oh, I'm ready to work out. But it's like, no, you cannot want to be at the gym and still go.

Right. Yeah. And I just think, wow, that it made me feel better to have permission to feel different feelings and not feel because sometimes you feel like, oh, I'm just, you know, not a very good Christian. Yeah.

Because I doubt or I have fears or this, but it's like, no, like, I just can't give into them. Right. And so as I'm going to pray tonight and all that, I just feel like, you know, okay, God, like, sit with me and those things that are imperfect with my fears and my doubts and my struggles.

Yeah. But don't let me fall into them. Don't let me get into them. It's even I even think about those questions that we have for God.

Like, I feel like some people will get caught. And well, I have all of these questions about God. And instead of running to God with their questions, they allow their questions to actually be like, no, I'm not about that at all.

And it's like that fear. Again, if not feeling like God is willing to work inside of our imperfect feelings, you know, versus saying, you know what, Lord, I'm actually really kind of scared of what I feel like you've called me into.

Like, there's a lot of weaknesses that you want to use and that makes me nervous. I don't feel like I'm strong enough. I don't feel like I'm talented enough. I don't feel like I'm qualified.

And those are fears. And if we let those actually like discount us, if we let them those fears like take us out of the game, then the enemy wins. But if we take those fears to God and be like, Lord, this is exactly what I'm struggling with.

I'm going to give it all to you. God will use that. And that's so cool.

Yeah. He will use it. And I think again, that's one of those things where God is so glorified in our weaknesses.

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