GodSprings - January 20, 2016

Fear or Faith?

Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?”Exodus 4:1 (NIV)

There is a story that the midshipmen at the US Naval Academy are told as an inspirational legend. The story, entitled “A Message to Garcia,” goes back to the Spanish-American War in the late 1890s.

When the war broke out between Spain and the US, it was very necessary to communicate quickly with the leader of the Cuban insurgents. A certain general named Garcia was somewhere in the mountains of Cuba … no one knew where. No mail nor telegraph message could reach him. President William McKinley, however, needed to secure Garcia’s cooperation, and quickly. But how would he get a message to Garcia?

Someone told the President that there was a man named Rowan who could find Garcia and deliver the message if anyone could. They sent for Rowan, and standing before the President of the United States a letter was placed in his hand as he was given the charge to deliver the message to Garcia.

The story goes that Rowan took the letter, sealed it up in an oil-skin pouch, strapped it over his heart, and just four days later he landed by night on a beach in Cuba. He instantly disappeared into the jungle, and three weeks later he came out on the other side of the island, having traversed the hostile countryside on foot, delivering the message to General Garcia.

Now the legend is passed on to the midshipmen at the Naval Academy because it carries a powerful example. President McKinley gave Rowan a message to be delivered to Garcia. Rowan took the letter and did not ask, “Where do I start? Where do I find him? How will I get there and back? Will there be pay for this?” He simply accepted the assignment and the message. He acted promptly without question, concentrated his energies, and accomplished his assignment to "Carry a message to Garcia!"

We all have been afraid of what people might think of us at some time or other. Maybe you felt this way during that awkward, overly self-conscious period in the first year of college or high school, where popularity and acceptance from peers meant everything. We all have been concerned at one time or another about what others may think about us.

Moses was certainly afraid of how he would be perceived by his fellow comrades, and he wondered if they would even receive him and God's message of deliverance. God had a Promised Land flowing with milk and honey awaiting Moses and the children of Israel, but Moses seemed content to stay in the desert.

We can do the same. We can limit the fullness of God's blessing in our lives when we allow ourselves to be swayed by fear. By faith, we can overcome any fear. Let us not miss out on the abundant life that God has planned for us by allowing fear to keep us from serving and following God's plan for our life