1 Nephi 4:3 -- On Moving Forward Despite our Fears

"Now behold ye know that this is true; and ye also know that an angel hath spoken unto you; wherefore can ye doubt? Let us go up; the Lord is able to deliver us, even as our fathers, and to destroy Laban, even as the Egyptians."
1 Nephi 4:3


This is part of the story of Nephi retrieving the Brass Plates. God had commanded them to return to Jerusalem and get them, and they had tried a couple of times, and had their property stolen, and almost been killed, so his brothers were (understandably perhaps) reluctant to try again. Nephi urges them to continue, because he wants to do God's will, and knows that God can make it happen, even if he can't see how.

It reminds me of the story in Daniel 3 where the king asks the young men why they aren't doing as he commanded and asks "who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?" (Daniel 3:15). They answer confidently, telling him "our God whom we serve is able to deliver us," and "he will deliver us" (Daniel 3:17), and then in the next verse they assert that even "if not" ... if the Lord chooses not to deliver them, they are still going to do the Lord's will rather than the King's will (Daniel 3:18).

The other thing that comes to mind is a story from the early days of the pioneers that I have heard several times:

"A large company of several hundred persons had been called to settle Arizona. One brother, reporting on the expedition in President Brigham Young’s office, said the group had gone about 50 miles (80.5 km) beyond the Colorado River. Finding no water, they were in desperate circumstances. Their chaplain went out alone one day and pleaded with the Lord for water.
“Soon there was a fall of rain and snow depositing plenty of water for the cattle, and [for the company] to fill up all their barrels. … In the morning all were refreshed, barrels filled up, and all turned back rejoicing in the goodness of the Lord in saving them from perishing. They returned to Salt Lake and reported Arizona uninhabitable.”
Brother Dan Jones recalled that Brigham Young “said nothing for a few moments, but sat looking me straight in the eye. Finally he asked, ‘What do you think of that Brother Jones?’”
Brother Jones answered, “I would have filled up, went on, and prayed again.”"

(Found in "A Time for Faith, Not Fear" HERE.)

Returning to our title scripture, Nephi continues acting on faith after urging his brothers to try again. He went forward, being "led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which [he] should do" (1 Nephi 4:6).

Nephi knew that the Lord wasn't going to deliver him from everything that they faced, just as Dan Jones knew that settling Arizona would still be difficult, and just as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego knew that there was a possibility that the Lord wouldn't save them from the fiery furnace. They all still knew that the Lord was able to lead them, save them, or help them accomplish what he asked, and they trusted in him enough to move forward, doing his will.

Maybe that's where we fall short sometimes... if our symbolic journey to Arizona is too hard and we run out of water, we get scared. If we figuratively face the king and know that God can, but might not, save us, we panic. If God asks us to do something and we fail several times, we think, well, maybe he doesn't want that after all and we give up, as Nephi's brothers wanted to do.

In 2 Corinthians 5:7, Paul talks about walking by faith and not by sight, and I think that all of these things are illustrations of that. Exercising our faith doesn't mean that one time plea for water, or praying for help in our direst need and then *not* praying the rest of the time. It means doing as Christ did, and praying always... knowing that the Lord could provide a place to stay, a place for a feast, a donkey, or the power to bring sight to the blind. Whatever was needed in that moment, the Lord could do.

Our fear holds us back a lot I think, as we try a couple of times and then turn back rather than having the confidence in God to move forward despite our fear that God won't have our backs this time, or that as far as his will goes, this might be an Abinadi moment rather than a Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego moment.

I definitely don't have all the answers about how not to be afraid, but I do know that this is an important lesson... to keep going in doing God's will despite our fears. Today, let's pray and pray and keep praying for God's help in moving forward and not back as we strive to do his will.