“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.” Deuteronomy 31:8 NIV
Moses is talking to Joshua in this passage about what he is to do as the new leader of the Israelites. Moses will not go into the promised land because he was disobedient to God but the people will need someone to lead them. Joshua is that person. Moses is encouraging him because there is a battle coming.
The promised land was not a barren land that the Israelites could just walk in to and claim as their own, it was an occupied city. Canaan was a well established land with culture all it’s own. The citizens were not going to just abandon their homes because Joshua said that the Lord promised this land to Abraham and his descendants over 400 years prior. Joshua and the Israelites were going to have to take the land, so Joshua was going to lead them into battle, but he wasn’t going alone.
Taking over for Moses was a big job and I imagine that Joshua may have been a little nervous. Moses is encouraging him as he has in the past and as he has encouraged the Israelites for 40 years that the Lord is with them. He tells Joshua that he is not going into battle alone, that God is actually going ahead of them and preparing the land for the battle. Moses also told Joshua that when he gets there that the Lord would not leave at that point but that the Lord was going to be with Joshua and the Israelites for the entire time even after the land was finally theirs.
There have been many times when we are facing life events that we wonder if the Lord has left us, but just as Moses assured Joshua that he was not alone in this verse, we need to take comfort that this verse is telling us that we are not alone as well. We are God’s children and He will not leave us. We are not going anywhere that God has not already gone and He will lead us through everything, if we let Him. He will lead us but we have to choose to follow, He will not take us kicking and screaming. It is our free will choice to make.
Which choice have you made? Follow Jesus or go your own way?