How can you overcome fear in order to move forward?
I would like to explore Eminem’s song “Lose Yourself” from the film 8 Mile and Numbers 13 when Moses sent advance spies to explore the Land of Israel.
Fear is a captivity of the mind about facts and circumstances of the present encumbered by past experiences.
When fear grips your mind, this mental captivity spreads out to create paralysis of your body, making it so that you cannot move to the future.
How can you be aware of fear in the present and still be able to move to the future?
Faith.
With Faith, you can see beyond the present and believe in future possibilities. It does not mean that you are blind or unaware of the challenging circumstances of the present. Faith fortifies you in the present to enable your movement to the future. There is no need to fear because God is with us (Numbers 14:9). You are filled with faith of future possibilities to carry you forward through present obstacles. Faith in God’s promise that we will live in the land of milk and honey with our children and children’s children and beyond.
In the movie, 8 Mile, Eminem faced his personal demons in order to create a better life for himself and his family. In the final rap battle, Eminem sang “Lose Yourself” as a testament to his ability to move forward with faith and overcome his fear.
Eminem acknowledged his fears:
“His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy
There’s vomit on his sweater already, mom’s spaghetti
He’s nervous, but on the surface he looks calm and ready
to drops bombs, but he keeps on forgetting
what he wrote down, the whole crowd goes so loud
He opens his mouth but the words won’t come out
He’s choking”
Nevertheless, Eminem also expressed his faith in the future which enabled him to overcome his fear in the present:
“You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow
This opportunity comes once in a lifetime .”
In Numbers 13, the Lord said to Moses: “Send men to explore Canaan, which I’m giving to the Israelites. Send one leader from each of their ancestors’ tribes.”
So at the Lord’s command, Moses sent these men from the Desert of Paran. All of them were leaders of the Israelites. Included in the 12 spies, was Caleb and Hoshea. (Number 13:2-3)
But Moses gave Hoshea, son of Nun, the name Joshua.
Forty days later, they came back from exploring the land. They came back to Moses, Aaron, and the whole community of Israel at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. They gave their report and showed them the fruit from the land.
This is what they reported to Moses: “We went to the land where you sent us. It really is a land flowing with milk and honey. Here’s some of its fruit. But the people who live there are strong, and the cities have walls and are very large. We even saw the descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites live in the Negev. The Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the mountain region. And the Canaanites live along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and all along the Jordan River.”
Caleb told the people to be quiet and listen to Moses. Caleb said, “Let’s go now and take possession of the land. We should be more than able to conquer it.” (Numbers 13: 25-30)
All twelve spies agreed that the Land of Israel was full of danger and risks. However, only two of the 12 spies, Caleb and Joshua had the confidence that they could successfully defeat the threatening armies and take possession of the land. The other ten spies threatened to stone Caleb and Joshua to death.
What made Caleb and Joshua different? First their names, Caleb means heart and Joshua means salvation (also the name of Jesus). They believed in the destiny that God had told Moses. In Numbers 14, God told them that he had given the Land of Israel to the Children of Israel. They had fervent faith in a future where all of 12 tribes would live in the Land of Israel and have their children, and children’s children, and future generation live in the land of milk and honey.
It is fervent faith in God in the present that enables us to overcome the short-term challenges of the present and seek the future possibilities. As Eminem eloquently sang, You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow This opportunity comes once in a lifetime!”
God’s Promise of Living in the Land of Milk and Honey
- On that day, God promised Avram to give his descendants the Land of Israel (Genesis 15:12-20 18)
- So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey (Exodus 3:8)
What is the difference between leaders and teachers?
- Teachers use words to inspire ideas that can fuel faith and catalyze continued action to overcome fears in the future.
- Leaders use action to inspire collective action in the moment to overcome fears of the present.
Further Viewing
You can enjoy Eminem’s Lose Yourself here.
