Monopoly Time

Playing Monopoly as a kid was good for me in a lot of ways. I learned valuable life skills that I'd confidently say I use today quite often. Probably somewhere between regularly and on a semi-biannual basis. Good things like: general math skills, risk management, disliking taxes, the useful fact that you can get out of jail for free, how to rob the bank when no one is looking, basic greed, and the knowledge that you can only get free parking if you cheat when you roll the dice. All in all, it was a good supplement to my homeschool education.

I think God has His own version of the game. Except, His is much simpler (and there's no way to rob the bank). In God's game, our life is the board and fear is the commodity. With every step we take, we either fear God or we choose to fear the situation. God wants a monopoly on fear in our lives. I think he is jealous even of our fear. When we choose to be afraid of that which does not deserve our fear, we are essentially opting to worship something less powerful than God. Nothing can compare with Him, so there's no reason to fear anything except for God. That's why God commanded Joshua to be strong and courageous, and He didn't just offer it as a suggestion. 

In my previous commenting, Moses and Elijah both encountered God in a significantly powerful way after some good ol' fashioned mountain scaling. For them, I think it was a mountain of fear.  Elijah stood up to an entire nation that was following false gods, thus he chose not to fear: the king, Baal, human might, popular opinion, physical abuse, death, and other such dangerous unpleasantries. He chose to fear God instead, and BAM! With Moses, there was a more terrifying fear to face down. God told him to climb the mountain, but I guarantee you he thought he was going to die when God's glory shone before him as a cloud, and there appeared to be a consuming fire covering the summit (where he was to meet with God). Just like in the Moses and Elijah examples, God wants us to overcome the Fear Mountains in order to experience a greater measure of his presence.

Fear God. Fear nothing else.