Fear Not

Listening to the Problem

Chapter 31

December 7

Judges 7:10-11

If you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah and listen to what they are saying. Afterward, you will be encouraged to attack the camp.

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Preface

A problem only appears as such to eyes that look at it from the position of fear. But as perspective shifts from F2F a problem changes into an opportunity, the thing it always was from the start. It becomes a chance to engage in the process of personal, spiritual growth. More often than not, it proves to be the catalyst for which we prayed in order to become who we aspire to be, to get what we want.

We prayed. The catalyst came. Maybe not in the form we expected or wanted. But its arrival indicates the best path that leads to exactly what we asked for.

What we want often can only be acquired on the other side of a specific challenge designed to bring about within us a necessary tweak, making us into someone who can receive the thing for which we're asking.

Gideon had specific God-aligned aspirations. To achieve them he had to face and overcome specific challenges. In the face of each one, whenever Gideon's faith faltered, God provided Gideon with practical advice, steps he could take that would lead to the encouragement he needed.

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Regarding today's verse, another way of saying this would be: If you are afraid to act, reach out to your support network, step up to the problem and analyze it with someone you trust. The problem itself will reveal to you that there was never anything to worry about.

By following these steps, we interrupt and dissolve the worse-case-scenario ruminations that tend to predominate the thoughts and feelings generated by the destructive fire of fear that rages in us when we stand too far away from the problem to see it for what it really is. These steps help shift perspective. Instead of looking at an interpretation of a problem from afar, we're able to reposition ourselves in relation to the problem and peer 'into' as it really is.

Existing within the heart of every problem sits waiting for us the seed of its own solution. It just demands the confidence-assurance to dig for it. ("Seek and you will find"; "The one who seeks finds," Matthew 7:7-8. "Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see," Hebrews 1:11.)

Problems are like fingerposts, pointing us to where the problem's solution is located. But in order for us to recognize this fact, when we find ourselves suddenly presented with a problem, we must slow down, quiet our thoughts, breathe and take the time to orient our attention toward the problem, not away from it. Then we have to relax, resolving to place ourselves in a solution-oriented mindset. This is best acquired by being curious, questioning the problem from the position of 'knowing' that the solution wants to reveal itself to us. Then, and this is important, we must go to where the problem is, not run away, and listen to it.

In the military they have a process for dealing with issues that may arise. It's called O.O.D.A., pronounced phonically as spelled, but stands for: Observe, Orientate, Decide and Act. This is essentially what God was telling Gideon to do.