He kept walking faster and faster in an attempt to get away from the person following him. Finally, he stopped and looked straight into the eyes of the person following him. The man in shock, turned and began walking away. My friend began following the man. The man fled, and my friend's fear fled. Thus, my friend learned a great lesson. The only way to overcome your fears is to face them.

There's one thing that I really appreciate about the Bible. It is SO honest about its heroes. One of the great men of the Bible was Joshua. Yet, we find that he had to deal with fear. In the beginning of the account of Joshua's leadership among the children of Israel (Joshua chapter 1), God has to tell Joshua four times (vs. 6, 7, 9, 18) "be strong and of good courage."

Joshua had much to fear. First, he had to deal with the fear of failure. Anyone who steps into a position of leadership understands how powerful and paralyzing this fear can be. Joshua followed one of the greatest leaders of all times. Moses saw the Red Sea parted; the people fed "manna" daily; and many great signs and wonders among the people of God during Moses forty years of leadership. Could Joshua step up to the plate and take the reigns of leadership from such a great man of God. Certainly, he had to deal with the fear of failure.

But a second fear must have been the fear of family and friends. He knew how fickle the children of Israel were. He had seen them love and revere Moses when everything was going well. But he had also seen them become rebellious when things weren't going so well. Joshua must have had to deal with the fear of rejection from those he loved so much.

I'm also sure that Joshua had to deal with the fear of the future. There's a certain sense of security in being under someone's leadership. The buck stops with him. When we're second in command, we leave all the worries up to the top brass. However, when we are placed in the top position of leadership, all of a sudden, we begin to realize that the future of those whom we are leading rests in our hands. That is enough to cause anyone to tremble in fear.

A final fear that Joshua must have faced was the fear of the foe. He had been into the promised land as a spy. He and Caleb had come back and told Moses, "No problem. Sure, there are giants in the land, but they are no match for our God." That was easier to say when Moses was leading. But now Joshua was the bottom line leader, he had to put up or shut up.

So, how did Joshua face his fears? There's one remarkable provision for facing our fears that stands out in the first chapter of Joshua - the word of God. First, Joshua had the promise of God. The Lord said to Joshua after Moses died, "No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you" (Josh. 1:5 NIV). I have discovered that there's nothing like the promises of God to enable us to face our fears. Too many Christians have sat for too long in the church premises and have stood too little on God's promises.

But Joshua also had the commands of God. The word of God came to Joshua saying, "Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go (Josh. 1:7 NIV). Obedience to God's word drives away fear. It gives a sense of victory and it secures God's provision.

God is looking for men and women who are courageous. I've been in some of the most difficult areas of the world. But I've never met a courageous Christian who wasn't standing on the promises and walking according to the commands of God. Trust and obey - there's no other way.