Deuteronomy 31 - 10.7.24

Scripture

Deuteronomy‬ ‭31‬:‭6‬-‭8‬, ‭23‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“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.” Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land that the Lord swore to their ancestors to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance. The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”….23The Lord gave this command to Joshua son of Nun: “Be strong and courageous, for you will bring the Israelites into the land I promised them on oath, and I myself will be with you.””

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Observation

Moses was telling the Israelites that he wasn’t going to cross over to the Promised Land with them and that he was getting older; however, Joshua, was going to lead them into the land that the Lord had promised to them. Moses had to encourage the Israelites to be strong, courageous and unafraid, because the Lord would be with them. He also commissioned Joshua and said the same thing to him. Then in verse 23, God commanded the same thing to Joshua!

If the words of being “strong, courageous, not afraid and not discouraged because of God’s presence with you” shows up 3 separate times in this passage, it must be important.

Application

Do it afraid.

I remember our guest speaker Nicole (who is a missionary to the Middle East), speak about how she does a lot of things afraid. Sometimes, God calls us to do things completely out of our comfort zone or completely out of what we want. Because He is God, of course we must submit and be obedient, but it’s not always easy. I want to encourage us all that whatever fears we have about what God is calling us to do, whether at work, church ministry or in daily life, He is with us, so we don’t have to be discouraged, but rather can be strong and courageous.

Prayer

Dear Lord,

Thank You for always calling out the best in me. Thank You that no matter what I have to face in life or what you are calling me to do, that You are with me and I don’t need to be afraid. Thank You Lord for the reminder that we don’t need to stay stuck in fear, because we have Your strength, courage, and presence with us. Amen.

-Michelle Gaddi