The Word: Hebrews 11:27 (NRSV)

²⁷ By faith he [Moses] left Egypt, unafraid of the king’s anger; for he persevered as though he saw him who is invisible. “

Reflection Questions:

1. In Exodus, Moses is described as having “fled” from Egypt due to pharaoh’s plot to kill him. How does this verse in Hebrews show a different perspective?
2. What is fear? Is it an emotion, motivation, spirit, or something else entirely?
3. Can fear co-exist with faith?

“Then Moses was afraid and thought, ‘Surely the thing [murder of the Egyptian] is known.’ When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh.” – from Exodus 2:14-15 (NRSV)

Both the verses in Hebrews and Exodus discuss Moses’ exit from Egypt after killing an Egyptian slave master. Exodus suggests Moses ran away in fear and without direction. Yet, Hebrews describes Moses as “unafraid” and states he persevered forward out of seeing the Lord. This is so grand; seeming contradictions always drip with dynamic meaning!

I’ve spent so long trying to organize my thoughts on this, but have now given up and resorted to the foolproof bullet-point method:

• First, Human emotion is complicated. Don’t believe me? We praise Jesus for willingly dying because He loved us, yet hours before his arrest He asked the Father to prevent his crucifixion. If Christ himself, in his human nature, can bounce between sacrificial love and self-preservation, how much more could Moses have felt both afraid and unafraid?
• Fear is never from the Lord. Our Lord is the creator of the heavens and Earth, who do we have to fear? We should avoid or flee situations not out of fear, but out of the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. In addition to imparting wisdom, the Spirit continuously sanctifies us by driving out fear. However, we’ll never perfectly submit to the Spirit until Jesus’ return. Until then, our fallen nature means faith will often co-exist with fear in our minds. Moses was no exception.
• I’m personally in a season of trying to understand myself. I’ve nearly finished my didactic schooling, and figuring out who I am besides a good student is daunting. I’m being asked to transition toward leadership in multiple sectors of life, and I’m really scared. I know it’s God’s plan… but I’m still scared. Sometimes, I falsely believe that by understanding myself thoroughly I can straighten out all emotional contradictions, become totally consistent, and never quiver as I step into God’s plans for my life. However, in those moments I fail to grasp that my ability to have faith in the Lord’s plan isn’t dependent on my eradication of hypocrisies and fear; in fact, the Spirit can impart faith in spite of my hypocrisies and fear. He can show me “him who is invisible” and lead me forward, no matter which way my labile emotions land.

Prayer

Father, you wrote every base pair, gene, and chromosome that resulted in me. My hypocrisies always stem from a lack of abiding in You; moreover, understanding myself best means understanding You first. Help me remember that following your plans won’t happen with self-created faith; my faith in you should originate from your Spirit. Keep my heart open to your sanctifying power; help me rest by allowing your spirit to drive out fear all the days of my life. Amen.