Jay Lowder is founder and president of Jay Lowder Harvest Ministries, an organization dedicated to reaching diverse groups of people with the message of Jesus Christ, and Crossroads, a public and private school assembly program which has been presented to 2 million students nationwide. He is also the creator and producer of “The Darkest Hour,” a television show that features raw and compelling stories of individuals who have found their way out of the pit of defeat by discovering a purpose for living.
Lowder is a leader committed to encouraging individuals with a message of hope through Jesus. He is author of Midnight in Aisle 7 and Navigate: Finding Your Way in this World and has written for a number of online and print outlets including CBN.com, The Washington Post, FoxNews.com, RELEVANT, Crosswalk, Outreach, Ministry Today and Charisma. He has also been featured on major radio and television networks including CBN, The Discovery Channel, ABC, FOX, CNN and ABC Family, and profiled in newspaper and magazines such as Baptist Press, SBC Life and The Christian Post, as well as ESPN Outdoors, for his hunting expertise. He resides in Wichita Falls, Texas, with his wife, Melissa, and their three children Lane, Kayley Faith and Graham.
Jonah was called to go to Nineveh, and he didn’t want to go. There are different speculations as to why, but most theologians believe that the reason was that the people from Nineveh were kind of archenemies to the Jews. In this familiar story, he is thrown overboard off a ship during a terrible storm. The reason Jonah got in deep water was that he was afraid of following God’s call on his life. Fearful of what the Lord had in store, he fled in an attempt to escape His plan.
I remember, years ago, I knew God had called me to be an evangelist to reach people who didn’t know Christ. Like Jonah, there was a season when I ran from my call! I also went overboard when I ended up taking a job at a Fortune 500 delivery company instead. I still recall the day when I ran into a man who was a friend of my father’s. I was delivering packages to his house, and he said, “Jay, what are you doing?” I thought it was just a casual comment. So I replied, “I’m working; the family is well…” and he said, “No, what are you really doing?”
I didn’t know what to say because I didn’t know what he meant. He said, “Jay, you know you are not called to do this. You know God has called you to do something else. So why are you not doing it?”
I really didn’t know how to answer. The rest of the day and even weeks after that, I thought about what he had said and took inventory of why I wasn’t doing what I was called to do. The truth of it is, I was extremely miserable. Like most people, I found out that running from my mission didn’t give me any sense of satisfaction.
How about you?
Are you running from something God has asked you to do, from some call He has placed on your life because of fear? Perhaps you are worried that you won’t be good at what He’s asking you to do, that your efforts will fail, or that you will embarrass yourself somehow.
Are you running from your mission and purpose – the very thing God created you to do? The truth of it is, no one can do it but you. So, why are you running? If God has truly called you to do something, then until you say “yes” and obey, you’re going to be on a path of misery. Jonah ran, and there were heavy consequences, and his life didn’t have fulfillment until he submitted to God’s plan. I encourage you today to say, “God, I want to let go of fear for what you have for me. Please, show me Your will, and I will do it.”
If you surrender your life and your plans to the Lord, you will not regret finding out what He has in store. It will likely test your limits, make you uncomfortable and call out the courage in you, but the end result is far better than anything we could ever plan for ourselves.
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (NKJV)
If God has not given us a spirit of fear, then why are so many people who follow him are gripped by fear?
I believe fear is one of his enemy’s primary tools used against believers to create doubt and faithlessness. Even Jesus said in Matthew 10:28
"Don't be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell.*
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“And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” (NKJV)
Fear can cause us to miss out on being a part of God’s great plans. We see this best in the story of Gideon. Gideon was afraid from the first moment God called him to save the people of Israel by defeating the Midianites. Gideon continually tested God, and in turn, God continually confronted Gideon’s fear by showing His power.
In Judges 7, as Gideon is preparing to battle the Midianites, God makes it clear He wants the Israelites to credit Him for the victory. So, God decides to wean Gideon’s army. The first cut? Any man who is afraid (Judges 7:3
Therefore, tell the people, `Whoever is timid or afraid may leave this mountain* and go home.'" So 22,000 of them went home, leaving only 10,000 who were willing to fight.
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). With that, 22,000 men packed their bags and went home out of fear.
Leaving Gideon 10,000 soldiers, God says it must be smaller. God gave Gideon another criterion that left him with only 300 men.
Sometimes God asks you to do things that are not practical or pragmatic.
In Gideon’s case, 300 men faithfully followed God’s instructions, which included no weapons but rather going into battle with only a trumpet and pitchers. Because of their faithfulness to do as God said, they won and defeated the Midianites. On the other hand, 22,000 men went home and later discovered they missed out on one of the greatest miraculous military battles in history. All because they ran from destiny and ran toward fear.
We all have fear. The enemy wants to paralyze us with it, but God wants us to walk by faith and instill courage in us to follow Him. The Bible says in Hebrews 11:6
And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.
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“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” (NKJV)
Today, God calls you to walk by faith, not by fear. Of course, you will face seasons of fear, but in those times you must pray for God to give you the courage to stand strong and stand in what He has told you.
Never doubt in the light what God has told you in the dark. The battle is not yours anyway; it is God’s.
