Not Alone
Read Deuteronomy 31:1-8.
Moses is old. One hundred and twenty. And he's done more in his "golden years" than most people do in their so-called "productive years." He knows the end is near, but he is given a chance few people have. He has a chance to say goodbye, to give a farewell speech, to help focus these people whom he had led for forty years on what is most important. If he is to share with them the essential things he's learned during the last forty years, what would it be? Moses boils it down to "just" 34 chapters.
But, really, what he most wants his people to know is this: they are never alone. No matter where they go and what they do, God will be with them. In fact, he promises that God not only goes with them into this new, promised land—he goes before them. He will cross over before them. He will take care of their enemies. He will give them the land. And, above it all, "he will never leave you nor forsake you" (31:8). On that basis, on the promise, Israel can remain confident and not be discouraged, no matter what comes in the days ahead.
I don't know about you, but those words bring great hope to me. There are many days when I'm headed into uncertainty, many weeks where I find myself exploring "uncharted territory" and trying new things. I need the constant reminder that not only will God never leave me nor forsake me (the same promise is repeated in the New Testament about Jesus) but that he also has gone before me. There is nowhere I can go that he hasn't already been (physically, spiritually, emotionally....you get the idea). He knows the way, even when it is dark and I can't see it. If I follow him and don't go off the rails onto my own path, I can have confidence he will lead me through. Thanks be to God, I am not alone.
Moses is old. One hundred and twenty. And he's done more in his "golden years" than most people do in their so-called "productive years." He knows the end is near, but he is given a chance few people have. He has a chance to say goodbye, to give a farewell speech, to help focus these people whom he had led for forty years on what is most important. If he is to share with them the essential things he's learned during the last forty years, what would it be? Moses boils it down to "just" 34 chapters.
But, really, what he most wants his people to know is this: they are never alone. No matter where they go and what they do, God will be with them. In fact, he promises that God not only goes with them into this new, promised land—he goes before them. He will cross over before them. He will take care of their enemies. He will give them the land. And, above it all, "he will never leave you nor forsake you" (31:8). On that basis, on the promise, Israel can remain confident and not be discouraged, no matter what comes in the days ahead.
I don't know about you, but those words bring great hope to me. There are many days when I'm headed into uncertainty, many weeks where I find myself exploring "uncharted territory" and trying new things. I need the constant reminder that not only will God never leave me nor forsake me (the same promise is repeated in the New Testament about Jesus) but that he also has gone before me. There is nowhere I can go that he hasn't already been (physically, spiritually, emotionally....you get the idea). He knows the way, even when it is dark and I can't see it. If I follow him and don't go off the rails onto my own path, I can have confidence he will lead me through. Thanks be to God, I am not alone.
Yes, that knowledge has brought me through so many rough times.
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