ADVENT DAY EIGHT
Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land that the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall put them in possession of it. 8 It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”Deuteronomy 31:8
WHY WE CAN HAVE COURAGE & HOPE
As God is fulfilling His promise to His people (bringing them into the Promised Land) He says, "be courageous" not because of their own strength or power or ability but because He goes before them. He's going to do the work. He's going to make a way. And He will protect them amidst the fulfillment of His promise.
We can have courage amidst terrifying or hard circumstances because GOD GOES BEFORE US. In fact, He already went before us. He already MADE A WAY. Jesus coming to earth, living here and experiencing all this broken world had to offer and then dying a death only we deserved -- made a way for us. He made a way that overcame death and sin and connected us to Him forever. This is no little thing. God made a way through Jesus and still today He goes before us, leading, guiding and protecting.
HE WILL NEVER, EVER LEAVE.
Not only does He go before us, we also see this theme of God being present with us again. A theme that culminated in the birth of Jesus. Immanuel. God with us. Remember, this is not just a mere mention of God's omniscience rather His active, powerful presence in our lives. And here in Deuteronomy we see it described with more detail. Not only is He with us, but we get this emphatic message here that He's not going anywhere. He will never leave. He will never abandon His children.
THE PROMISE
The Lord goes before us. Protecting us and making a way. He is with us. He will never ever leave. He will never abandon you. And because He is there we can have courage and hope.
PRAYER
Father, thank you that you are active and present and working in my heart and life. Thank you that even when I cannot feel you, I know and trust that you are there. Grow my faith that I may trust you in the scary, hard, dark moments. Help me to remember that You already went ahead of me. You already fought sin and death and you won. And now I can have courage and hope.
