“The LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” So many things come to mind pondering this promise. The context of this promise is very specific direction from God to Joshua, at a very specific point in history so I must exercise caution and wisdom in applying this promise to my own life.
I begin by thinking of the fact that Scripture uses the whole story of the Exodus and the conquering of the Promised Land as a vast and deep picture of the triumph of Jesus in the work of the salvation He accomplished for His people. He delivered us from the power of darkness and delivered us into the kingdom of Light. (Colossians 1:13). We are made “more than conquerors who love us and gave himself for us.” (Romans 8:37).
This “saving” and this “conquering” beg the questions:
From who or what are we saved? And what or who do
we conquer? Do we really conquer anyone or anything?
There are four commands that precede this promise. God tells Joshua he is to “be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed.” Each of these words imply that there is some reason one might be weak or cowardly and fearful. One might tremble at something that inspires fear or be dismayed at a terrible, apparently “un-fixable” problem. So what it is that would require remembering that “the LORD your God is with you wherever you go?”
The life we live in this fallen world confronts us with the enemy of our souls, satan and his evil minions who hold sway over the world until Jesus returns. They stir up horrific evil and trouble for all earth’s inhabitants. But they particularly hate and desire the downfall of the ones Jesus has bought for Himself with His own blood. Satan is our mortal enemy who wants to see us devoured. He uses our own lusts (1 John 2:16) and puppets of evil (John 8:44) in his efforts to cause us to renounce Jesus or to make a shipwreck of our faith.
This battle is real. It is against “the powers of darkness” (Ephesians 6:12) and so you and I must take to heart the encouragement that God spoke to Joshua in much the same way Joshua must have had to do. He faced formidable foes in the wicked pagan people living in Canaan. He had to deal with complex problems in leading the people to the promised place. So we must look at our evil foe in all his roaring, frightening aspects and choose not to be afraid. We must tackle the tough situations with which we are presented with courage, not cowardice.
We need to remind ourselves of the amazing truth: “the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” Before Jesus was born his parents were instructed to name Him “Immanuel”—which means “God with us.” Wonderful thought: even His name declares the glorious truth of His being with me! This promise does not say God WILL BE with you, but rather God IS with you. There is not and cannot be a time or place where God is not with me. What a wonderful promise!
Question: What causes you to be afraid? Will you cling to the promise that God is with you?