Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.
I have called you by name; you are mine. Isaiah 43:1 (NLT)
In Judges 6 the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon. He addresses him by saying "“Mighty hero, the Lord is with you!” Now this is rather odd because Gideon was actually hiding. The Bible says he was threshing wheat at the bottom of the wine press to hide the grain from the Midianites.
And later, as Gideon is called to do God’s work he says I can’t. My tribe is weak, my family is weak and I am weak. God reassures him.
Gideon again questions with “Show me a sign.” (As if an angel sitting in from of you isn’t enough of a sign.) The angel does and Gideon realizes it is an angel. The angel gives Gideon instructions to pull down the temple of Baal. Gideon, still afraid, decided to do it at night. Under cover.
Later, Gideon again is called to fight a battle and again he asks for a sign.
Do you see the pattern? God calls. Gideon doubts. God delivers. Gideon really seems like he is afraid of everything. And my thoughts turned to us. Aren’t we a little like Gideon? OK. Maybe a lot like Gideon. I want to sit here and say WOW! He was a chicken. But in reality, so am I sometimes.
God calls. We doubt and ask for signs instead of moving out when God says move. God gives signs and we ask “Is that you?”
I wonder if that is why God tells us not to be afraid so many times in the Bible. He knows that we need to hear it. A lot.