“So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.”

The words of our verse for today are part of Moses’ final instructions to the people of Israel. Joshua was slated to take over the leadership of the people after the death of Moses. He would soon lead them across the Jordan River into the Promised Land in order to conquer and take possession of it.

Moses told the people, first of all, that they should be strong and courageous. This is the message that all believers need to hear at the moment when they are about to enter into the Kingdom calling that God has been preparing them for.  Instead of succumbing to fear and cowardice as the Israelites did forty years previously, they must “Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong,” (1 Corinthians 16:13).

Second, Moses told the people not to be afraid and not to panic. Like the Israelites, all believers will have to face the enemies and obstacles on the way to the Promised Land. Every form of Kingdom activity is a struggle against the entrenched forces of evil that possess the land, and they must be overcome. These enemies and obstacles are very real, but we must not shrink back in fear of them.

Third, Moses told them that the reason why they should be strong, courageous, and fearless is that the Lord would personally go ahead of them. True Kingdom activity is not done in the strength of our own power and might. The Lord Himself will be with us in order to strengthen us, help us, and protect us. As the Psalmist says, “Though a thousand fall at your side, though ten thousand are dying around you, these evils will not touch you,” (Psalm 91:7).

Finally, Moses told them that the Lord would not fail or abandon them. The Lord God is faithful. He will not lead us out only to abandon us and leave us to our own devices. As the Apostle Paul says, “And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns,” (Philippians 1:6).

Take the words of Moses to heart, for they apply to you just as much as they did to the ancient Israelites.

By John Huisman, friend of Bible League International