Conquering The Fear Of Loss

By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin.
–Hebrews 11:24-25

One reason we often struggle to serve God with all our hearts is the fear of loss. Perhaps you are fearful that if you make a radical commitment to God, you are going to have to give up something important to you.

Did you know that Moses also faced the fear of loss? Remember, he grew up like royalty. Acts 7:21-22 tells us, “Pharaoh’s daughter took [Moses] away and nurtured him as her own son. Moses was educated in all the learning of the Egyptians, and he was a man of power in words and deeds.” Moses, who was Jewish, was raised in Pharaoh’s household. We do not know a lot about the first forty years of Moses’s life. But we do know about a great turning point in his life when he was about forty.

By this time the Israelites had been in Egypt for several hundred years, and the Egyptians had begun to view them as a threat. So the Egyptians enslaved the Israelites and forced them into hard labor. One day Moses went out to one of the work sites, and he saw an Egyptian mistreating one of the Hebrew slaves. Moses was so infuriated that he killed the Egyptian and hid his body in the sand.

Let me be clear: what Moses did was wrong, but he did have the right motive. On that day he made a choice to identify with God’s people who were suffering, rather than continue to enjoy the privileges of being Pharaoh’s grandson. Hebrews 11:24-25 says, “By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin.” Moses had a lot to lose, but he chose to give up the passing pleasures of sin and follow God.

What is the antidote to the fear of loss? Faith in the promises of God. Look at verse 26: “[Moses was] considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward.” Moses did the mental arithmetic and decided he would rather give up the fleshly pleasures of Pharaoh’s household for the eternal promises of God. It is the same for you and me. God does not always reward our obedience immediately, but He does reward it ultimately. The only way to conquer the fear of loss in your life is to focus on the promises of God.

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Today’s devotion is excerpted from “Fearless Faith” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2020.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org