Numbers 22:2-4–And Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. 3 And Moab was in great dread of the people, because they were many. Moab was overcome with fear of the people of Israel. 4 And Moab said to the elders of Midian,“This horde will now lick up all that is around us, as the ox licks up the grass of the field.
Life wouldn’t be life without challenges. When I was younger there seemed to be a strong desire to prove I can stand up to challenges, in order to prove I had the confidence or courage to handle whatever came my way.  Though I still desire to stand up to challenges, I’ve learned that some challenges are meant to overwhelm you, and prove to you that you cannot overcome them without a real faith in God…
King Balak was not a believer in the God of Israel, and saw how Israel had overcome the Amorites.  Balak clearly had great respect for the Amorites, for him to now fear Israel because they defeated them.  So he measured what happened to the Amorites to be the destiny of his people in Moab.  Fear had become “the engine” of this new challenge before king Balak…
Once fear becomes “the engine” of our motives and strategies, we now make provisions according to the worst that can happen!  Which is easy to do if you have experienced real trauma.  The king’s fear, inspired the people to conclude in fear as well, “the horde will now lick up all that is around us..”. The leader’s fear had become contagious, and set in motion a mentality for the people to expect defeat…
Yet this is what a life without faith in God leads to.  That sooner or later we will come up against a challenge that we have no preparation for, can’t read up on, nor pretend we are courageous against, and expect defeat!  But the intimidation of the new challenge, is for the believer to grow stronger by faith in Christ.  Otherwise out of an honest, but fearful assessment of ourselves, we will succumb to defeat without fighting in Christ to overcome. –1 John 5:5–Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? 
In His Love, Ld