Deuteronomy 31:6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.
Sometimes it is difficult to make connections between the Old Testament history and our daily life today. And sometimes it’s clear that we are just as fickle and easily distracted as the early Israelites. This verse was a challenge to me at first because I thought it didn’t apply to Christians of this generation. The Israelites were being told not to fear the people in the lands they were about to enter. They were getting ready to enter the Promised Land where there would be fighting as they took possession of already inhabited lands. I simply could not see how this verse applied in my own life.
But after praying and reading commentaries, I came to a realization. The world we live in today is no different than the one Moses, Joshua, and the Israelites lived in. Our world is full of people who live for self, who believe in false gods (money, ambition, career, sex, etc.), who are entrenched in sin. We need strength and courage to stand firm in our beliefs. We need strength and courage to let our light shine (Matthew 5:16). We need strength and courage to avoid temptation. We are no different than the Israelites because we, too, live in a land full of evil and sin.
In order for us to be strong and courageous we have to learn to surrender our own ability and receive God’s divine strength and the courage that He provides. We are weak on our own, but we are made strong by Him. The Bible teaches us that His strength is made perfect in our weakness ( 2 Corinthians 12:9). We must abide in Christ rather than thinking we are strong enough on our own. Through Him we will overcome the world (1 John 5:4).
Today, draw comfort from Deuteronomy. The words of Moses ARE applicable in the world we live in. Do not be afraid. God goes with us and He imbues us with His strength and courage. Best of all, we have the promise that He will never leave us nor forsake us. We should find that the most comforting of all.
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